


Scars Run Deep Below the Surface

by Wind_and_Sky22



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: And Vio, And Zelda, Four sword was never returned AU, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Probably because of the Six Maidens, Shadow is still alive...?, Thoughtful Zelda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-07-12 09:10:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15992129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wind_and_Sky22/pseuds/Wind_and_Sky22
Summary: After the spectacular defeat of Ganon and Vaati, the four sword heroes returned home to a life as their own four people, unwilling to give each other up and be trapped back as Link. But when Zelda visits and notices their behavior has become odd, it leads to a terrible discovery that she must fix with the four heroes before time runs out.





	1. Zelda

Zelda hadn't had a chance to visit the Links' new home yet, but as she stood regally in front of the small building, she was somewhat disappointed she didn't. From what the four Links had described during their small chats, it was a very small house with very two floors, no basement. She sighed as a burst of humid air swept through her long blond hair. She wondered if the house was really as cozy as Red had avidly described it as, as peaceful as Vio had explained, as picturesque as Blue had characterized it, as charming as Green had recounted. It was a little painful to think that they wouldn't be staying at the castle any more, but at least the house was near the castle and Zelda knew that she would be welcome all the time.

She raised a gloved hand to the wooden door, and knocked along with a song in her head. A raindrop fell on the path outside, and Zelda was glad that they had included an overhang over the porch. The door opened to reveal Blue, still groggy and half asleep. Thankfully for princess Zelda, he had gotten dressed before answering the door. Blue seemed to startle when he realized who it was, and simply stepped aside to allow the princess to enter. Smiling kindly, Zelda stepped inside gracefully and nodded her head to the blue-clad hero, who nodded back and gestured around the simply decorated interior with one arm. 

"Make yourself comfortable. I'm going upstairs to wake Green and Shadow up. Red is making breakfast and Vio should be reading at the kitchen table." He explained curtly, and walked up the stairs. Zelda frowned, where was his usual greeting, slinging an arm over her shoulders in his imitation of a hug? Where was the cheeky grin and proud stance? Where was the confidence? Was it the new house? They had only been staying in it for a couple weeks, but maybe it wasn't quite as impressive as they had said? She had hired the best people she knew to plan and build the four Links a new house. She highly doubted it, Blue wasn't someone who would get so worked up over something like that. She didn't have long to ponder her puzzle for long, as Red's head poked around the opening leading straight into the kitchen. 

"Blue? Who was at the door? Was it someon- Zelda!" He called out quietly, voice getting louder to almost a shriek at her name. He was soon shushed by someone, Zelda assumed Vio, also through the opening. Red smiled and whispered a quick apology. Zelda waved a hand politely and walked through the decent sized sitting area to the kitchen. Vio was sitting at the kitchen table just as Blue had said and he raised a hand over the book he was poring over.

"Good morning Princess," he greeted, "How are you?" his eyes flickered to meet hers briefly before going back to his book.

"Good morning Vio, and you too Red!" Zelda exclaimed with another wave. Red grabbed a spatula and pushed some eggs around in a pan on the stove. 

"It's a good thing I made plenty of eggs today! Do you want some Zelda?" He asked cheerfully. Zelda pondered for a moment, before accepting the offer. A thump came from upstairs and Zelda frowned a little.

"Vio, Red, do you know what's wrong with Blue? She asked quietly. Red turned from the stove and Vio looked up from his book.

"What's wrong with Blue?!" Red cried out. Vio tilted his head to the side and echoed Red's statement, just a little less dramatic.  Zelda's frown deepened. If Vio and Red didn't realize what was wrong with Blue, something must be up. She shook her head lightly and gave a small smile.

"It's nothing, I think he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!" She explained, waving off Vio's curious look. Zelda could tell that Vio was going to argue, but she was saved from having to think of a new answer by a new voice.

"Good morning guys, hello Zelda." Green said, stepping into the bright kitchen with Blue following behind. Zelda turned around to greet him, but was met with a terrible sight. Green was slumped over, massive bags hanging under his eyes, and leaning on the doorway into the kitchen. Zelda let out a gasp and her hand flew up to her face. 

"Green! Oh my goddesses, are you alright?!" She cried out loudly. Green averted his eyes and heaved himself into a chair at the table beside Vio. 

"It's nothing, I've been staying up late to work on... work." He replied, finishing rather lamely. She was almost certain that it was a lie, but with everyone staring, she would respect Green's privacy and wait until the others were gone. Vio kept casting glances at Green, so Zelda assumed that he was onto something like she was. Zelda kept a mournful eye on Green, who was now slumped into his arms and half asleep already.

After a moment of the odd silence, Red shrieked in pain and everyone whipped their heads over to him, causing Green to fall out of his chair. No one noticed Green's predicament, so he ended up just staying on the ground, too tired to move.

Blue, who had been getting plates out for Red, dropped them, causing them to shatter.

Vio and Zelda, thankfully, were both fine. Red, however, was not. His hand had dropped into the hot pan of eggs while he had been worrying over Zelda's reaction to Green. He clutched his wrist and Vio was immediately on his feet and racing to get some water. As everyone reacted to the chaos, minus Green who was practically passed out on the floor, Zelda slipped out of the room to think for a moment. The yelling and sobbing in the kitchen kept going, but Zelda ignored it for the time being. Something was going on with the four Links, and Zelda was going to have to figure all this out before she went back to the castle. 

Zelda rested her head in her hands and let out a large sigh. She mentally cleared her calendar for the next few days and winced. She had duties as a princess, but her duties as a friend wouldn't let her just walk away from this mess. She waited for the noise to die down in the kitchen before walking back inside and taking the last chair at the table, supposedly for Shadow. The eggs were put on plates and set in front of all the chairs with a glass of milk. Red seemed better, only letting out a small sniffle occasionally, and wincing when he bumped it against anything.

Speaking of Shadow, she thought to herself. Her train of thought trailed off, leading to a number of unhappy conclusions. Hesitant in bringing up another issue, she cleared her throat. It got the desired result, as all four heroes turned to look at her, albeit Green was a little late. 

"Isn't Shadow staying here?" she started slowly, watching everyone's expressions carefully, "I haven't seen him since I helped the six maidens heal him and he was unconscious then. Is he coming downstairs?" Vio's eyes flickered down to the plate of eggs in front of him and at the doorway. Green seemed to be lost in thought, and Red let out a hiccup of surprise before nodding hesitantly. 

After the initial bout of shifty, pleading eyes in the silence, it was Blue who broke the silence.

"All right, allright. Tch, It's not like he's dead. Really, calm down. He still can't be touched by light. He gets up at sundown and we all wait for him to get up and we chat with him for a while until it's too late and we  have to go to bed. He spends the rest of his time doing who knows what." Blue exclaimed. Zelda hadn't heard him talk since he had let her in at the front door, and, though he still had that strong attitude about him, he was uncharacteristically quiet. He simply stated the facts, not the strong opinions and insults he usually threads into his speech.

Zelda smiled and began eating her helping of slightly burned eggs. The chatter continued, led mostly by Red, with occasional comments from Zelda. Zelda tried to bring the others in by asking questions, but Green would just nod, still lost in thought, Vio would reply with a curt comment and go back to eating, and Blue would either answer like Vio, or he would snap at someone. Red stopped talking after Blue snapped at him. 

Zelda smiled and just continued talking to the others, not really expecting a response, but inside she was very, very, concerned. She had a sinking feeling this was more than just minor problem.


	2. Zelda's Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda finds what she's looking for, but when the others shut her out and hide their problems, how can she help them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, the Sunday chapter! I promise next chapter will have Zelda helping Red and actually starting the plot, I just couldn't figure out how Zelda would figure out what was wrong with him. As usual, leave a comment if you want me to include anything in particular. I'll definitely update before Friday, though with moving preparations and school, take my update schedule with a grain of salt. If I'm lucky, it'll be up on tuesday. I'm not sure if I should give have Zelda help Shadow as well or not. If you want Shadow to have a large part, tell me in the comments.

Breakfast went about as well as Zelda had expected. Tensions were already very high in the small house, but Zelda could tell that the four heroes were doing their best to get along in front of her. She had talked with the others about her stay, and all four of the Links were very happy to accommodate her in their house for a few days. She had hoped to talk to someone after breakfast, but everyone had scattered around the small house, leaving her sitting in the kitchen alone. 

Zelda wanted to bang her head against the table in frustration. She couldn't do anything to help if the others weren't willing to open up to her. She was always good at reading people, but she felt useless in this situation. She tried to talk to them as a friend, and they cut her off and ignored her. She was stuck with the waiting game for now. The others were all 'busy' with something else. Undoubtably just avoiding her for the time being. They clearly weren't prepared for a visit from the princess of Hyrule, even if said princess was their best friend. Green still treated her more like a princess than the friend that would jump in the mud and climb trees with them. It did hurt a little to know that there was an aspect of their best friend that still treated her with so much respect and awe. Surely with time he could become more comfortable with her like Blue and Red! 

With a sigh, she stood up and made her way to the door. While the others were busy, she figured she could head back to the castle and get some things that she'd need to stay over for a few days. Perhaps if she had the time she could look for a book in her library to help her friends. Since the Links' house was so close to the castle, walking took no time at all. The trees lined the path, casting cooling shadows on the ground. By the time she reached the castle gates, she was almost disappointed to be back. The guards standing by the gate startled when she walked over.

"Princess! Where are your guards? I thought you were inside the castle?" One of them exclaimed, straightening noticeably. Zelda smiled in return.

"I was out on a visit to see my friends. They are fully capable of protecting me when I visit." She replied smoothly. The guards shifted uncomfortably, torn between obeying their princess and keeping her safe and protected. Zelda felt a touch of guilt over making her loyal guards wait, but if she listened to everything they told her to do, she would never be able to leave her castle.

The guards opened the gate and let her pass through without another word, although Zelda was sure she would have someone coming in to speak with her about leaving the castle.She got quite a few stares from the people in the castle, but she paid them no mind and continued on. When she got back to her room, she saw a guard guarding her room door. She waved a quick hello as she approached.

"Princess! Where have you been?" The guard asked loudly. Zelda smiled discreetly, truly all the guards were the same. 

"I was out visiting Red, Blue, Green, and Vio. Please notify the necessairy people that I will be staying with them for a little less than a week and cancel my plans until I get back." She explained in reply. The guard nodded and seemed to go over the instructions in his head. Stepping inside her room, Zelda smiled and thanked him, closing the door behind her to give herself some privacy.

She examined her room quickly, mentally deciding what she would need for a quick stay with her friends. The smell of flowers drifted through the room, relaxing her as she chose the outfits she would need. Once she thought she knew what she would need to bring, she called for a handmaid to bring her suitcase and some things from around the castle to pack. It would take a little while for the message to be sent, the handmaid to find the items, and bring them to her, so Zelda decided to go to the library to look for a book or two to look at. All four of the Links' behaviors were off, and Zelda suspected something not so common as a simple off-day.

The library was right near her bed chambers, so she didn't need to walk very far. She pushed the doors open and walked inside the quiet room. Not many people were permitted inside, so Zelda knew she would have no problems with privacy. She wandered through the rows of shelves and internally wished she had Vio with her to help. He'd know what to look for. 

She looked at a particularly promising section of books and paused at an old book that she had recalled reading a month ago when the decision had been made to not return the four sword to its pedestal. She and the six maidens had been a little concerned with the effects of being split into four indefinitely, so she had gone looking for anything that might cue her into any problems that might arrive. Looking back, this might just be one of the problems she had been trying to avoid. 

"Hmm,  _'The Four Sword: Truths Behind the Legendary Sword_ '. This may help." She wondered softly to herself. She hugged the book to her chest and went back to her room. She saw a handmaid with her suitcase and other items in hand standing by her door. The handmaid curtsied as well as she could with her arms full and stepped aside to let the princess enter first. 

"Thank you for bringing me my things. Please, come in." Zelda told the woman kindly. She watched as the handmaid set her suitcase on the bed and laid the other items inside without taking up too much space. Once the woman was done, she turned to Zelda and gestured at the clothes lain on the other side of the bed.

"Princess, would you like me to pack your clothes and the rest of your belongings for you?" She asked meekly. Zelda nodded and went to sit in a chair by her balcony. 

"That would be lovely, thank you. I need to look at something before I leave, I have already picked out the clothes and laid them on my bed." She answered a little absent-mindedly. She opened the book and flipped to the section she was interested in. As she skimmed through, occasionally looking up to reply to the handmaid's questions, she remembered a section she had read through before, and searched for the particular paragraph she needed. With her good memory, it didn't take long, and she soon found what she needed. She examined the paragraph and let loose a sigh. She should have expected something like this to have happened.

The book claimed that, since the wielders of the four sword were four different personalities of the same person, they all relied on each other more than a normal person would. If they spent too much time apart, or not interacting much, they would start losing themselves. Zelda figured that this was what was probably going on, something happened to make them spend more time as individuals, and not as a team or a family. If Zelda didn't do something to fix their problems, they could end up splitting entirely. In other words, the four heroes were being idiots as usual and trying to act as individuals when they weren't. Each of them were missing the other three aspects of their personalities and as such, were suffering the loss of the other personalities and trying in vain to find solutions where there weren't any to be found. 

Zelda was drawn away from the book and her unhappy thoughts from the handmaid clearing her throat uncertainly. Zelda looked up, clearing her face of the frown that had been on her face while she was reading. 

"Yes, what it is?" She asked the nervous woman. The woman smiled, losing some of the nervousness at having interrupted the princess. 

"Your suitcase is packed, princess. If you are ready, I also took the liberty of calling a carriage to the castle gates to escort you to your destination." She responded quietly. Zelda sighed in her head, slightly annoyed, though she took care not to let any emotions show on her face besides the usual kind smile she always had. She wouldn't be able to escape her guards for the short trip to the house in the woods. 

"Thank you, I will be going as soon as the carriage is ready." She sighed, standing up and straightening her dress. The handmaid exited the room as soon as Zelda dismissed her, leaving the room encased in a comfortable silence. Zelda grabbed her suitcase and her book and exited the room. A guard outside her room took the heavy suitcase from her and escorted her down to the castle gates, where, true to the handmaid's word, there was the royal carriage waiting. She thanked the guards and the driver of the carriage and stepped regally into the carriage, sitting near the window. She folded her hands over the book on her lap and lifted one to wave at the people that she passed on her way to the woods.

The ride was very bumpy, but not uncomfortably so, and the carriage arrived in less than twenty minutes. The sun was high in the sky, signalling that it was just before noon. Zelda was very happy to see that Red was outside waiting for her, that is, until she got closer and heard the sound of loud sobs echoing from the young hero. Red looked up when he saw the royal carriage approach and wiped the tears from his eyes. Zelda wasted no time in exiting the carriage as soon as it slowed to a stop. Red had finished calming himself down, and walked over to give Zelda a huge welcoming hug.

It wasn't unusual to see Red crying, mostly because Blue had said something insensitive or had hit him on the head. Zelda was ready to do as she usually did when Red was upset; give a big hug and talk with him for a while to cheer him up. Red loved when Zelda tried to cheer him up, which was why it was extrimily unusual when he wiped away the tears and pretended nothing had happened. Zelda was fully prepared to help cheer him up, when Red just barrelled in for a hug and began talking at a rapid fire pace. 

"Red, are you okay? What happened?" She asked as soon as Red's talking died down. Red gave her a look that seemed panicked. 

"What do you mean? I'm fine! I was just sitting outside waiting for you to return!" He lied in response. If it were any of the other Links, it might have worked, but Zelda knew Red like the back of her hand. 

"No, you were clearly crying when my carriage arrived," she said gently, "tell me what's wrong so that I can help," Red just looked back at the house and grabbed her suitcase from the guard who was handing it out of the carriage. 

"Oh! I got your suitcase! Let's go inside so that we can unpack your stuff and get you settled in!" He shouted out, he was clearly trying to sound happy, but Zelda just heard tiredness which did not suit Red well. Even the other Links had only seen Red truly sad once, and that was when he thought Green and Vio were dead or captured by Vaati and Shadow Link. Vio, Green, and Zelda had only ever heard tales of the one time when Red changed completely. Zelda hoped she could figure out Red's problem before he became sad like that again.

Zelda semi-reluctantly followed him through the open door, hearing him shouting for all the others to hear that Zelda was back. Zelda ran a hand through her soft hair and let out a breath. Zelda didn't know what was wrong with any of the Links, she would just have to be a supportive friend until the others decided to let her in. She just hoped they would be past their stubborn do-it-all-myself attitude that had gotten them in trouble countless times before. Step one: Find Red and figure out what was wrong with him before he lost all of his optimism and cheer that made him Red. The others would come later.


	3. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda tries to help Red overcome his problems before he gives up entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn't add Shadow this chapter... I couldn't fit him in during the day, and I really wanted to end it here. I do have a plan to include him in the next chapter I promise! (If you notice, I ended this chapter at night for a reason~) So for any one who loves Shadow and wants to see him included, you will get your wish! Thank you for reading this, feedback would be appreciated (especially for how I broke the text up, I still don't get that...) I hope you enjoyed today's chapter!

"Cheer, 

Joy, 

Spirit,

Hope. 

Save him, save our Hope." 

Zelda's vision seemed to blur for a moment. Voices echoed in her head, strong and commanding, yet gentle and pleading. They sounded soft like the voice of a fairy, yet as commanding as the strongest army's leader. These voices knew heartache and sorrow, but also celebration and joy. She leaned briefly against the doorway. Zelda's world spun around. Who was speaking? Green, who was sitting on the couch inside running a whetstone against his blade to sharpen it, didn't seem to have heard anything out of the ordinary. Who was Hope? who were the voices talking about? Perhaps... Red? Could the voices be helping Red? They didn't seem to sound like they had malicious intent, but then again, Vio had clearly proven to everyone that it was all too possible to manipulate someone.

Zelda's vision cleared and she shook her head to clear her mind. She was thinking too much about it. Her immediate concern was Red. Zelda didn't know how long her four friends had been divided like this, but it had to have been a while for the four to be showing such obvious signs without any of them knowing. It was almost as if they were already used to ignoring each other like this, the thought sent shivers down Zelda's spine.

If only there was someone who could help her figure out what she was trying to look for. If only there was someone... but maybe there was. Zelda's eyes snapped wide open. Maybe there was someone who had been on the inside, someone who knew exactly how long the four had been split up like this! She had no longer to think about her new idea as there was a thumping on the steps.

"Zelda!" a voice interrupted her thoughts and brought her back to reality, "I've finished setting up your room! I got new sheets and blankets and made your bed, I also got some of the flowers you always like from our garden. I didn't unpack your stuff 'cause I figured you'd want to do that on your own. Is there anything else I can do?" Red asked, hopping down the stairs one at a time. Zelda smiled, it was very thoughtful of him to do that for her! Perhaps too thoughtful... NO! Sweet Nayru, this was Red she was talking about! He would go to the ends of the earth to help his friends. She was reading too much into every encounter. Maybe this was all just her own thoughts.

Zelda clenched her fist briefly behind the folds of her dress to let some of her frustration out. She had to be level headed, she couldn't help anyone if she became paranoid.

"Thank you, but no, I can fix the rest of my stuff myself. I am on a small vacation, it's nice to do things by myself sometimes." She laughed, turning to walk up the stairs towards the room set aside for her visits. She paused at the foot of the stairs, an idea forming in her head.

"Red, may I talk to you for a second upstairs?" Red seemed to think for a moment, before his face fell as he seemed to berate himself under his breath.

"I can't chat right now Zelly, I have so much to do! I should start lunch, Vio usually gets hungry around now. Then I have to... do stuff." He finished somewhat lamely. The faint Shrrrring! of the whetstone against Green's sword paused it's steady rhythm as Green shuffled to look over the back of the couch at them.

"What stuff could you possibly have to do now Red? Zelda's visits don't come all that often, you should spend some time with her." He asked skeptically, but kindly. Red's eyes widened and he avoided eye contact with both people. A look of resignation and determination shone in his eyes. Zelda guessed that, though he had forgotten about Green, he was expecting a confrontation with him. Zelda's brow creased ever so slightly in thought.

"I will! Just, not now, I have stuff to do and I've put it off for too long!" He retorted in a flurry of words. Green's concerned frown deepened. "What stuff Red? we haven't had anything to do since Vaati was defeated!"

"I just... I just need to do something quick!"

"Red, you've been running off to who knows where every day! You always come back so tired and worn out, you even had to go to bed before Shadow woke up last night! Do you have any idea how much that hurt him? This has to stop Red!" Green declared finally, standing up and putting his sword down carefully.

If Red wasn't panicking before, he was now. His hands were shaking and clenched in front of his chest. Then, all of a sudden, he calmed down. Everything in his stance seemed to go limp at once. When he looked back up at Green, locking eyes tightly, they were full of unshed tears and a fierce, determined shine.

"You aren't my father Green! I can do things by myself if I want to! You, Blue, and Vio run off on your own all the time without telling me! Why do you have to keep tabs on me in particular!" he yelled out. Green ran a hand through his hair worriedly, Zelda did note that he seemed very fatherly in this instant. Her heart throbbed painfully, fully aware of what Red must be going through.

"Red can we not have this discussion now, Vio and I have tried explaining. If Blue ran off every day and came home in tears like you do, we would talk to him too, same with Vio, and I'm sure they would do it to me too." He hastened to explain, but Red didn't seem to want to listen. A tear fell from his eyes and he stormed off out the back door towards the woods. Leaving one last retort hanging in the air, he disappeared into the shadowy forest.

"You can say that all you want, but it doesn't change what you really think of me!"

Zelda stared at the spot Red last stood, before her eyes shifted to Green, who slumped back on the couch. Zelda moved gracefully over to the couch and waited for a moment. Green looked over at her and patted the spot on the couch beside him with a resigned sigh. Zelda sat down and smiled wryly. 

"I take it this is not a new developpement?" She asked once she was settled. Green nodded tiredly, the bags under his eyes seemed to deepen and he chuckled bitterly.

"No, I just don't understand. One moment he's super clingy and cheery, then he just takes off and we don't see him for hours!" Green gestured with his hands as he talked, finally letting them fall into his lap. Zelda put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"I get it, but maybe you should try to be a little more understanding of his point of view. You do sound a lot like your father when he used to come to me about you four when you were still Link." She suggested carefully. She knew Green was upset, and she didn't want to push him too far. Green looked out the window on the other side of the room.

"I just wish he would stop acting like he's a little kid. All of them do, and it drives me nuts!" He burst out suddenly, eyes glaring at a lonely songbird out the window. Green seemed to regret what he said and shuffled a little away from Zelda. 

"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. My apologies, I should get working." He sighed, standing up.

"It's alright. I'll see if I can talk to Red, I'm sure if you could just talk things out, everything would go smoother, would you like to come see Red with me?" She asked lightly. Green's eyes shifted to the side and he stood up abruptly. 

"No, I should make lunch for everyone. I should also do some laundry. Do you need any clothes washed?" Zelda shook her head mutely and Green walked off, leaving a very confused, and slightly hurting princess behind. Green didn't want to talk with her, she knew for a fact from seeing the basket on the way to her room that the laundry had been done for the week already.

Zelda let loose a breath that she hadn't known she had been holding as a long, and very drawn out sigh. She noted mentally that she had been doing a lot of that lately. She walked out to the backyard garden and looked over at the path that Red had taken. On her way out, she discovered that Red's four sword was gone from the spot in the entryway. Zelda felt realization wash over her as her mind pieced together Red's recent behavior. She was honestly surprised that Green, if he was that worried about Red, hadn't figured it out.

Turning on her heel, Zelda crossed the cleared yard with even footsteps and made her way to the path in the forest. She walked along the well-kept path quietly, trying to ignore the lingering feeling of hurt. She knew it wasn't really Green's fault; he was stressed and worried. Anyone would react the same way he did. Though her rational mind knew this, her heart clenched with doubt. It wasn't long before the a mixture of yelling and sobbing joined the soft sounds of the forest. Zelda mentally congratulated Red on his choice of hiding spot. It was far enough off the path that one had to be listening to be able to hear anything. It was far enough from the house to be a little too long a walk for anyone looking for him to search if they didn't know where he was, but close enough that he could get back quickly if there was danger. That was most likely why the other Links hadn't stumbled across his spot yet in their search.

Knowing the source of the noise, Zelda followed it through some trees and out into a well-lit clearing. The air was warm, but not humid, and Zelda felt herself relax just feeling it flowing through her hair. She pushed aside a branch watched for a moment.

Red was trying to maintain a fighting stance in front of a very cut up tree, though he couldn't hold it for long as sobs wracked through his small frame. He glared at the sword in his hand and hurled it at the tree in a fit of anger, before apparently regretting his decision and running back to pick it up. Zelda silently made her way towards the fallen hero who was sitting on the grass beside the tree. Once she was close enough, Red turned his head and looked over at her in surprise. 

"Zelda I don't-I don't, what are you even, why, what?" he stammered, searching for words to connect with his thoughts, "It, well, it's not what it looks like!" he cried after a moment of incessant stammering. Zelda simply looked on calmly with a kind smile.

"It's all right Red, I'm not going to judge you" she started placatingly, "Why are you training out here in the forest? If you wanted to train you could always ask Blue, Green, or Vio. I'm sure they would love to help you." She was testing the waters, so to speak. She had a faint idea of why Red was upset, and if she was correct in her guessing, saying those words would likely get a reaction from the hurting boy.

Red just seemed to fold in on himself. He hugged his knees to his chest, pushing the sword away as he did. Zelda took the unspoken invitation and sat down beside him, rubbing comforting circles on his back. After a little while of just sitting in companionable silence, broken only by Red's sniffling, Red spoke up quietly.

"I just wanted to do something by myself. Everyone else doesn't need me to help them with things. why should I need them to do something I did all the time as Link? " he mumbled into his arms. Zelda's hand paused momentarily on his back before moving it up to rest back on her lap. She had been right. It had nothing to do with the lack of personal spaces, so much as the supposed lack of trust to find the personal spaces. That was probably why he had blown up when Green tried to ask him where he was going, and in Red's mind, keep tabs on him. Zelda watched the downcast hero with sorrow. No one deserved to question their own worth. Everyone was good at something.

"Maybe sword fighting just isn't your thing," Zelda suggested, "I mean, I don't know anyone who can cook a fish the way you do!" Red gave a weak smile that dissolved rapidly. 

"But cooking isn't supposed to be my thing. I'm a hero! I should be strong and brave and able to use a sword as well as the others!" Zelda shook her head and smiled, tilting Red's head to look at her.

"Who was it that mastered the fire and ice rod? You didn't need a sword to fight with, you had your own weapon that you mastered in no time at all!" Red sniffled quietly and looked down.

"Well, yeah, but Vio mastered the bow, he shot three arrows at once when he used it for the first time! And Blue used a hammer, and Green used a boomerang. We all got new weapons, I only kept mine as long as I did because I lost my four sword." 

"The others used toys, Red. It's not that difficult to master a toy bow. It takes a special kind of skill to harness natural elements like fire and ice." Zelda continued talking to Red as the day grew into late evening. She watched the sadness slowly disappear from his face. The sky had darkened above their heads, but Zelda could have cared less. She was finally seeing just how far the seeds of sadness and sorrow had rooted themselves inside her best friend. She could practically feel the darkness being pulled out of Red's figure with every word she spoke. All the sorrow and darkness was being replaced with the usual bright happiness and hopefulness that Red carried with him.

"Everyone needs help with things their not good at Red. Just because you said you learned that you needed to depend more on yourself doesn't mean that you have to ignore everyone else until you can do everything they do." Zelda consoled wisely. Red brightened significantly from that, all traces of tears and sadness gone after the long chat. Red stood up and smiled his usual excited smile. Zelda followed suit as they walked back towards the house, Red chattering on about his skills and Zelda encouraging her red-clad friend happily.

They reached the edge of the treeline by the backyard, and the sad Red was way in the past. They had taken their time walking back to give Red a chance to fully calm himself down before facing Green, Blue, and Vio again. Zelda listened attentively to Red excited flurry of words. 

"-And who went to find everyone else when Shadow split us up? I did! I found blue and freed him, I found Green with a little help from Blue! And technically vio too, though that was a trap. Ooh! and I saved Blue when Vio lured us into the trap! The big bad guy never thought that I could light all the torches, well I taught him not to underestimate me!" Red gushed happily and Zelda laughed loudly. 

"That's so cool Red! You have your own type of helpfulness, I bet I wouldn't have been able to save Blue from the poe like you did!" She added helpfully. Red seemed to preen under the attention, and for the time being, Zelda was happy to indulge Red in the happiness he deserved after an ordeal like that.

"And when I lost my four sword did you know that it was me who saved Vio from crashing into the lava with the rest of us?" Red continued happily. Before they reached the house, Red turned to Zelda with a slightly more serious expression plastered on his face.

"Thank you, Zelda. You really helped me out back there. I'll try to understand more of where the others are coming from." he brightened up again, joking to Zelda again, "After all, they do have to protect their best teammate!"

Zelda playfully nudged Red, speaking in a more lighthearted tone.

"And who was upset earlier about not being good enough compared to the others?" She paused, and started speaking again, half in jest, and half serious, "Just don't let it get to your head like Blue!" Red giggled as well and the two laughed along as they entered the house. As they entered, Zelda watched as Red ran to the others and began ranting about various different things.

She couldn't help the nasty thought that seeing the others bring, she had fixed one of her friends, but getting the others to open up would be harder than the joyful red teammate who wore his heart on his sleeve. She walked inside, following Red, and decided to make tonight a fun night for everyone. Since she couldn't fix her friends problems right yet, she could at least distract them for one night of laughter and fun. She had brought the red-clad teammate back, and Zelda was sure that this was what the voices had been talking about in the morning. If she listened hard enough, she swore she could have heard the ecstatic voices from the morning celebrating her success, laughter chiming like fairy bells. Yes, she thought as she joined the others in the sitting area, this was what the voices had been telling her to save.

From the brink of disaster, she had brought back her friends' Hope.


	4. Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Red feeling much better, Zelda tries to turn her attention to Green. When Green doesn't want to let her in, who will she turn to for help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I finally managed to write Shadow in a way that I didn't hate!! Yaaaaaay! Please tell me if I wrote him wrong, if there is anything I can fix, I would really like to know. Thank you to everyone who stuck with me from chapter one. I know chapters one and two are a little rough around the edges, but we're finally getting to the exciting part! Yay! 
> 
> Now I can officially say the following without worrying about giving spoilers: some of the characters may seem OOC, I promise it is on purpose and they will not stay like that the entire time.
> 
> PLEASE READ THE NOTES BELOW. IT WILL HELP UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE CONFUSING PARTS OF THE STORY
> 
> On that note, enjoy!

"Bravery,

Leadership,

Motivation,

Courage,

You have rescued one, yet another is trapped. You cannot save our Courage alone. Go, before it is too late."

The voices were back, echoing in Zelda's mind the moment she stepped foot into the busy sitting area. Courage, all four of them were courageous, but the only one who fit all the words to a T was Green. She stumbled slightly at the power of the words spoken directly to her mind. All four of the boys in the room looked up in slight alarm, but Green stood up and rushed over to Zelda.e

"Are you alright?" he exclaimed, carefully supporting her in case she fell. "What happened to you?"

Zelda smiled simply in response. 

"All is well, I just lost my footing for a moment. Actually, may I speak with you outside?" She asked, as an afterthought. Wanting to try to figure out how she could help him. She wasn't going to lie to herself, having a supposed time limit put on her was more than a little stressful and Zelda wanted to figure things out before things became bad. Green looked a little confused, but shrugged nonetheless and followed her out to the grass just out back. 

"I'll be back soon guys, don't bother waiting for me!" he called back to the others, "Tell Shadow I'll see him when I come back inside. Okay?" The called out their affirmations and went back to what they were doing before, namely trying to listen to Red without getting too annoyed. Red was still chittering away while they waited until it was dark enough for Shadow to come downstairs.

Zelda sat down on a patch of grass near the wall of the house and patted the ground beside her. Green sat down carefully and leaned back against the wall.

"So, why did you want to talk to me? Is Blue keeping you up with his snoring? Because I can switch rooms with him if he's really too loud," he half joked, looking at the last rays of the sun as it submerged almost completely beneath the horizon. Zelda frowned and turned to look at him.

"Green, I haven't even spent the night here yet, how would I know where Blue was sleeping and if he would bother me?" She exclaimed, thoroughly confused. Green coughed awkwardly and avoided Zelda's questioning gaze.

"I don't know, you're smart. Maybe you guessed? Why should I know?" he rambled nervously, his cheeks were flushed as red as their fire-wielding teammate. She decided to push at him a little farther. She always used to tease Link when they were younger, and sitting here with the hero who truly looked the most like the original brought back memories.

"Why would I guess?" she giggled, "I've never even been in your new house, which, may I add, looks great!" 

"I said I don't know!" Green snapped suddenly, "Just forget I even said anything! Why did you drag me out here?" Zelda recoiled in shock before calming down and berating herself in her head. She really should have known better than to poke and push him when she knew he was acting different than usual. 

"You're right, I'm sorry. I just wanted to talk to you for a little while." She consoled cautiously, "Are you alright? You've seemed so tense and exhausted ever since I've arrived!" If anything, Zelda's words, meant to be kind and calming, had the opposite effect on the green-clad Link. 

It was Green's turn to recoil, his eyes held a glint that told Zelda she had said the wrong things.

"I knew it! Shadow put you up to this, didn't he!" He demanded, Zelda tried calming him down.

"Green, I told you before, I haven't seen Shadow since you I healed him with the six maidens!" she hastened to correct him. Unfortunately, Green didn't seem inclined in the least to listen to her words and they seemed to go in one ear, and out the other.

"That jerk! And after we spent so much effort to save him! I've been sleeping just fine!" He continued loudly. Zelda glanced towards the doorway into the house, but no one inside gave any indication that they had heard the outbursts. She placed a calming hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at her.

"Green, I don't doubt you," she started carefully, "but you fell asleep at breakfast. It wasn't early enough for that. It's not a problem to admit that you've been having some trouble falling asleep." she desperately hoped that her kind words would be enough to calm him. Green just ripped his arm out of her light grasp.

"I'm fine, princess. Actually, I am feeling a little tired right now, so I'm going to bed." he exclaimed coldly, and he stormed off back into the darkened house. Zelda tried to get up to follow, but her dress got in the way.

"Wait, Green!" she called, but Green just kept going, "What about Shadow! Aren't you going to stay to spend some time with him?" 

"He can keep himself occupied, he doesn't need us to babysit him when he wakes up!" He called back, not even bothering to look back. 

Zelda sat in the grass for a while, a minute or so after Green stormed inside, Red poked his head outside.

"Zelly? Green went upstairs a little while ago, and Shadow came downstairs. Are you going to come in to say hello?" he asked worriedly. Zelda sighed and looked over at him.

"No, not right now," she replied quietly, "I'll come inside in a little bit. Don't bother waiting up for me," Red frowned a little, but went back inside with an uncertain 'okay'. She didn't know how long she sat outside beside the house. She was used to staring at the sky at night, mapping the stars and constellations in her head. It was after the voices had died down and gone from inside the house, leaving just the crickets and other forest noise in the background, when she was drawn from her thoughts by a familiar voice.

"Well princess, I'm not going to lie, I wasn't sure if the others were lying when they said that the princess of Hyrule was sitting in our backyard. Does royalty usually do that?  I mean, I don't know anyone else who stares at the night sky for hours instead of, oh I dunno, sleeping?" The voice drawled playfully. Zelda turned to the new speaker with a polite smile.

"Shadow," she greeted with a relieved nod of her head, "I had hoped to see you before I went to bed." She turned back to the sky and Shadow walked over to lean against the wall a few feet away from Zelda. He scoffed lightly, still keeping his teasing tone. 

"If you had wanted to see me, you would have come inside and talked with me and the others instead of sitting out here watching the grass grow." He then dropped his joking tone and seemed to deflate a little.

"I see you've helped Red get back to being the happy-go-lucky guy we all know." he started, glancing at Zelda for a moment, "So I'm guessing this means you've realized that we have a serious problem on our hands." Zelda did a little happy dance in her head, someone other than her had noticed the other Links' odd behavior! She stood up slowly, stretching her stiff muscles as she did. 

"Yes, why don't we discuss this inside. It's a bit chilly outside," she suggested to the black-clad Link. Shadow nodded and followed her inside. Once they were settled on the comfortable couches inside, Zelda noticed that Shadow kept to himself a lot. He always stayed a far enough distance away and just followed Zelda's lead. He no longer seemed as comfortable or as confident as he did when they spoke on the palace of winds. He looked... uncomfortable. The conversation they had had on the palace of winds before her capture must have had a huge impact on him. Zelda smiled sadly, she could only imagine what he must be thinking, talking to the person he had kidnapped and held captive. She saw the guilt in his eyes when he looked at her.

"Shadow, why don't we restart." she proposed to the unusually quiet Link. Shadow looked up, confusion written all over his face.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked her, searching her face for an answer. Zelda held her hand out for a handshake.

"I don't blame you for kidnapping me, you were misguided, you hold no blame. I'd like to start fresh, as friends." Zelda reiterated. Shadow just stared, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"You, but I-I kidnapped you! I teased you, and laughed at you, and I'm entirely to blame! If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened!" He stated disbelievingly. Zelda tilted her head to the side.

"If you hadn't kidnapped me, Vaati would have sent someone else. If it weren't for you, I would have died from the poison in the cloud. You were willing to die to save me and all of Hyrule." She responded in the same way. She shook her outstretched hand to draw attention to it. "I'll start, my name is Zelda, and I'm the princess of Hyrule. What is your name?" Shadow still stared for a moment, but then his face broke into a small smile and he grabbed Zelda's hand to shake it.

"My name's Shadow, it's nice to meet you princess." Zelda's smile widened and she withdrew her hand.

"Please, call me Zelda," she replied to Shadow's introduction. Shadow nodded in slight awe. Once they had the 'introductions' out of the way, Zelda let her smile slip to a concerned frown.

"I believe we were talking about the others before?" she prompted seriously, Shadow nodded again, trying to remember where they had left off.

"Yeah, after we all moved here, everyone has just been stuck in their own thoughts. It's like they forget that they're one person!" he explained. Zelda added the information to what she had noticed.

"That's what I saw too. I found a book that I remember reading. I had figured there might be complications trying to live as a quarter of a person. Apparently I was right, because there was a paragraph describing this same problem." she said.

"What exactly is happening to them?" he asked, leaning backwards to lounge comfortably on his couch. Zelda hastened to explain what she had read. When she was done, Shadow frowned deeply.

"So you're saying, their minds are trying to make up the missing personalities so they can function as individuals, but since their personalities are in other bodies, they can't find any and are trying to artificially pretend that they do?" Shadow repeated in new words. Zelda thought about it, and nodded.

"Yes, that's correct, they're minds are warping their own thoughts and personalities to match the ones they used to have as Link. They're going to end up replacing their own personalities with ones created out of the negative emotions that are fueling this. The stress on their minds could be enough to kill them if we don't fix the emotional problem at the root and encourage their minds to let the others be other personalities that they need in their lives." She replied. Shadow threw his hands over his face and flopped back onto the couch cushions.

"Those idiots!" he growled into his hands, "After all Vaati, Ganon, and even I did to try to kill them, they're going to kill themselves from their own stupidity and stubbornness!" He growled out some more inaudible words, muffled by his hands, that Zelda was glad she couldn't hear. Finally, he sat back up and looked at Zelda.

"Alright, now what are we going to do about it?" he said, staring straight at Zelda, "Red seems back to normal, what did you do to get him to stop being stupid and realize that he needs the others?" Zelda pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"Well, I figured out what his emotional problem was, and then I talked to him and made him realize that it wasn't really true, it was all in his head." She mused, "But in order to help Green, Blue, and Vio, I need to figure out what the emotional problem is at the heart of everything." Shadow snorted in bitter laughter.

"They don't really seem open to talking about their problems right now," he closed his eyes in thought and opened them a moment later with a gleam in his eyes.

"Princess, er, Zelda, what was Red's emotional problem?" he asked, listening attentively. Zelda couldn't think of how that would help, but the gleam in his eyes told her that he had an idea. At least that hadn't changed.

"Red was upset because he wanted to do things without the others help. He wanted to get better with the sword so that he could help them. He was sick of being useless." Zelda explained, thinking back to the conversation he had held with the boy a few hours prior. Shadow's grinned widened, and he clapped his hands together to be dramatic.

"I think I have the solution you're looking for," he started, "Now listen closely, you described Red as being very determined to train, right? So you could also say he was  _motivated_ and  _focused._ Think back a while, where do you remember those two adjectives being used?" Zelda thought back to all the encounters she could clearly remember, and frowned. She wasn't sure where Shadow was going with this. Shadow barreled on anyways, not worried that Zelda hadn't caught on yet. She would eventually.

"Vio used those words to describe Green's personality during their travels. I was watching through the dark mirror the whole time, so I should know. Now, if you could describe Green's new behavior in a handful of adjectives, what would they be?" he asked excitedly. Zelda thought back again.

"I would say, stubborn and easily angered. Tired too." she suggested. Shadow threw his hands forwards as if Zelda had just said that he had won the lottery. Not that either of them knew what the lottery was, of course.

"You still don't get it? Here I was thinking you were the smartest out of all of us, princess!" he teased jokingly, "who do you know that is stubborn and easily angered. I'm leaving tired out of there because I'm pretty sure that's a side effect from the emotional problem, and I'm not looking into side effects right now."

Zelda blinked in surprise. She certainly knew someone stubborn and easily angered, those adjectives fit Blue to a T.

"That sounds a lot like Blue..." she trailed off. Shadow grinned again and she knew she had hit the nail on the head.

"Exactly!" Shadow almost yelled, "So if Red is acting like Green, and Green is acting like Blue, then we have our answer! Their minds aren't just creating new personalities for them, they're using the bare fundamentals of the others to mimic each other because they subconsciously miss each other!" Zelda, having finally caught on to Shadow's explanation, gasped in surprise.

"They're chasing each other, while pretending like they really don't need each other in the first place, making them miss each other more... It's a never ending circle! The book really left a lot out." She thought out loud. Shadow clapped his hands with a smug smirk fixed firmly on his face.

"Good job, princess, gold star for you!" he mock-praised. Zelda rolled her eyes, but found herself laughing along with him. 

Zelda calmed herself down after a while enough to talk more seriously.

"So Red was trying to be Green, Green is trying to be Blue... that means that Blue is probably trying to act more like Vio, and Vio is probably trying to mimic Red." she pondered. Shadow nodded enthusiastically.

"Exactly, so I'll try to keep Red normal while you help Green, Blue, and Vio." Shadow added, "I did notice some things that you might want to think over before you came here. Knowing Vio more than I know the others, I realized pretty soon that he was acting a little odd. He seemed very... clingy. As clingy as Vio can get, at least. He always wants to be in the same room as someone else. He didn't need to interact with them, but someone else had to be in the same room as him. I think that was what tipped me off that something was a little wrong with the others. Blue, on the other hand, spends all of his time looking at others. He's not so focused on himself. He watches everyone and has almost stopped snapping at everyone. He's much calmer. Keep this in mind when you try to talk with them."

Zelda gave a very relieved smile and stood up tiredly.

"By the way Shadow, I thought I told you to call me Zelda," Zelda said with a smile. Shadow smirked his usual smirk.

"Think of it as a nickname, Princess," he explained teasingly. Zelda rolled her eyes.

"It's my title, not really a nickname," she exclaimed, half wanting to laugh, half wanting t bang her head on the table. She blinked when she realized just what she had thought. It's amazing what sleepiness and being tired can do to a person.

"Well it's a nickname now," Shadow added, shrugging as best as he could from his position on the couch.

Zelda, not being able to come up with a response, just changed the topic and let the formerly-evil Link win this round.

"Thank you Shadow. I'm very glad you helped us. It really is a pleasure to be your friend." Zelda said, "I should go to bed, I will talk with you more tomorrow night. Have a good night." Shadow smiled and slung his arm over the couch. Zelda walked towards the stairs and Shadow called a last comment to her as she left.

"I would suggest starting with Green. It'll be easy to find a time to talk to Vio alone, but getting him to say talk about his problems will be hard. Blue will be almost impossible to get anything out of." Zelda smiled looked back at the lone Link sitting on the couch. She finally got to the top of the stairs and walked straight into Vio.

"Vio?" she exclaimed, shocked, "What are you doing up?" Vio smiled his usual small smile and Zelda felt very comforted by the small normalcy. Vio's eyes shifted over towards the stairs and he exhaled loudly.

"I... couldn't sleep. It's been happening ever since a few weeks ago. It's odd... Anyways, I've been chatting with Shadow until I'm tired again. I was going to go down earlier, but I heard him talking with you." He must have seen the brief panic in Zelda's eyes, as he hastened to continue, "I didn't hear anything, I didn't want to listen in to your conversations."

Zelda smiled, relaxing again, and patted Vio's shoulder, an act she never would have done to Vio before her conversation with Shadow, but now wanting to see just how much Vio had copied from Red. To her surprise, Vio seemed to subconsciously lean into the touch. 

"I-I see," she stammered, still shocked, "Good night, Vio." Vio nodded and seemed to hesitate for a moment, hovering awkwardly, before rushing in to give Zelda a very quick hug. It wasn't quite one of Red's giant hugs, but more Vio-like. Less squeezing, Zelda thought decisively, thank goodness for that. Before Zelda could say anything else, Vio had taken off down the stairs.

Zelda stood still for a minute, having been completely unprepared for the hug, which was very, very rare from Vio. Eventually, she shook her head and found the room Red had prepared for her. As she got ready for bed, she couldn't help but laugh a little, Shadow was going to have a field day teasing the other Links about this when they were back to normal. 

If they ever got back to normal, an unwanted part of her mind supplied unhelpfully. She turned out the light and rolled over, wrapping herself in the warm covers. Just before she drifted off, she swore she heard the voices resurface in her mind, echoing through her dreams.

"You know now what to do. Hurry, young one, save our Courage before the change is complete, before their time runs out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone doesn't understand what Shadow and Zelda describe in the story, comment with your questions and I'll try to explain. I'll admit, I was confused just writing it. Please try to describe exactly what you don't understand if you do comment, not just "I don't understand anything". I don't think I can explain everything that much more detailed without making the comment wayyyyy too long. If you don't really want to comment, read below, then comment if you still don't understand.
> 
> For anyone who doesn't understand, they are still themselves, they just subconsciously want to be more like the other person. Remember, they don't consciously want to become each other, it's kind of more of an instinct. For example, Red thought he was still the same Red, his mind just subtly changed so that he started becoming more focused on things that he had to get done and more motivated to get them done, becoming more like Green. He became more like Green to 'solve' his problem with feeling useless as the others do as well. As Zelda says, it's a circle that's feeding itself.
> 
> Vio's odd behavior is actually completely normal. I figure, while the others don't really know what's going on, thinking they are the same, Vio recognizes that he has changed a little and is currently giving in to what his mind is saying he should like or do (like the hug and wanting to be near others) in order to try to understand what's going on. he wants the change, subconsciously, he just doesn't understand why he does, consciously. He still has no clue what's happening, and the longer they stay like this, Vio will start to give in more and more as opposed to Green, who has no clue that he's acting any differently. However, please remember that he is still changing and does not realize the full extent of the control he's giving the part of his mind that's chaging him. He's also doing it partly to help fix his emotional problem.


	5. Vio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a startling discovery, Zelda is forced to hold off on her attempts to help Green in order to help the smartest Link overcome his problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! School can be sooo tiring. Anyways, I've been receiving so much love for this story and I'm so happy! I hope you enjoy Green's chapter. As usual, leave a comment with a request or a critisism and I'll see what I can do to help!
> 
> I also noticed that no one commented with questions about last chapter, so I'm going on the assumption that everyone understood at least the bare minimum. I'm glad that it made at least that much sense!

"Tensions are rising high,

your time is getting thin,

calm the growing storm,

before it floods your kin.

Save our Peace so tranquility will reign,

and quell the storm of hatred,

building it's foundations

in your friends hearts."

... And there they were again, the voices kept popping up on random intervals ever since she arrived at her friend's house. They felt foreign, but also somewhat familiar. Zelda groaned and rolled over in the warm blankets, attempting to fall back asleep. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

No use. She was awake.

Zelda stared at the ceiling as if it had personally wronged her. Why now, why couldn't she sleep in on her vacations? Technically, it wasn't all that early; the sun was starting to peek above the horizon, but after the late night talking with Shadow, it might as well have been two in the morning.

Zelda heaved herself out of bed and pulled out some clothes to wear. If she was up early, she might as well make breakfast and give Red a break. She pulled off her nightgown and slid into something a little easier to move around in. Contrary to popular belief, Zelda did not wake up with naturally beautiful hair every morning. It took her quite a while to brush out the rats nest on her head. She walked quietly down the stairs and into the sitting room. A soft snore came from the couch and Zelda startled on her way to the kitchen. She poked her head over the back of the couch and smiled. Lying asleep on the couch, Vio was covered in a blanket snoring softly. 

Zelda tiptoed into the kitchen, unable to shake the smile off her face. Vio must have fallen asleep while talking with Shadow. For being a creature of darkness, Zelda was truly amazed at how kind and considerate Shadow could be. She looked through the cupboards searching for something she could make for her friends. After considering the things she knew Link enjoyed, she settled on pancakes. She wasn't an amazing cook, but even she knew how to make pancakes. She hummed a soft tune to herself as she worked. 

After a while cooking and humming in the early morning light, she some movement outside the kitchen. Red and Blue poked their heads inside. 

"Are you making pancakes?!" Red exclaimed loudly. Blue shushed him and jerked his head towards the sitting area where Vio was still asleep. Red apologized in a whisper and repeated his question in the same hushed tone. Zelda smiled and handed both boys a plate of pancakes.

"Yes, I woke up early and figured it would be nice for you guys to wake up to warm breakfast. Red gave the tired princess a crushing hug and ran off to the table to begin eating. Blue was quick to follow, a small inclination of the head and a 'thank you' instead of the hug Zelda got from Red. Zelda continued making pancakes, but she didn't get far before Vio stumbled into the room. She greeted the purple-clad boy in the same way she had greeted the other two, handing him a warm stack of pancakes. He got a small smile in response before Vio joined the others at the table. Finishing the last of the pancakes, Zelda brought the last two plates to the table and sat down.

"When does Green come down?" she asked politely. Blue snorted, rolling his eyes. His eyes softened and he let out a sad sigh. Zelda noticed his eyes clouded in worry and regret.

"He doesn't," he told her dryly, "I'll go wake him up." he stood up from his spot, leaving a few bites of unfinished pancakes which Red snatched as soon as Blue was out of sight around the corner. Zelda turned to the others in slight confusion.

"What do you mean he doesn't come down?" She demanded simply. Vio gestured towards the stairs.

"We're pretty sure that Green just... doesn't sleep." he explained softly.

"He never comes down if we leave him be. One of us has to go upstairs and get him or he'll just sit by his window without moving all day." Red interjected. Vio nodded towards the Red teammate and continued on.

"We've never actually tested it, but one time, we forgot to get him and Blue found him at noon sitting in the same position we had left him in the evening before. He was just staring out his window."

Zelda frowned, looking from one Link to the other with a worried expression.

"And you let him do this to himself?" She demanded in a hushed tone. She worried that if she didn't try to keep herself quiet, she would end up yelling at her two friends. Red looked at his plate, tears welling in his eyes. Vio just shrugged, not bothering with a verbal response. Zelda made a strangled noise that she was certain was very undignified for the Princess of Hyrule. Neither boys were looking at her anymore, and she stood up rapidly, making her way to the stairway. She knew Green wasn't sleeping well, but to learn that everyone had noticed and no one was doing anything was a huge shock.

She stormed up the stairs loudly, reaching the door she knew to be Green's by the name plate attached. She knocked on the door rapidly and shouted through the wooden barrier.

"Green? Are you decent?" she asked loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to wake up Shadow who was likely sleeping in the room a few doors down. She listened through the door.

"Zelda? Why are you-" She heard Blue begin to ask, but she didn't barreled on.

"Is. Green. Decent?" She repeated, leaving pauses between each of the words. She heard a sigh from behind the door.

"Yes, but why-" Blue started to reply. Zelda didn't listen to anything past 'yes'. She opened the door and marched in, eyes blazing. 

"You two," She began, "are coming downstairs to have a talk with me. No buts." She demanded as soon as she was inside. Blue was standing by the bed where Green was sitting, staring out the window as the others had said. She grabbed the boys by the arms and dragged them from the room. When they were downstairs, they saw Vio and Red sitting on the couches.

"We figured this was going to happen," Vio stated with a sigh, "we washed the dishes and got things cleaned up in the kitchen." Zelda nodded her head in thanks, practically throwing the boys down on the couch that Vio and Red were on. Green frowned at her.

"What the heck Zelda!" he cried out once settled on the couch. "You don't just barge into someone's room and drag them out!" Zelda's eyes flared in anger.

"No!" she replied frustratedly, "Just stop talking for now. I have a huge problem with how things are going right now." She turned to the others seated uncomfortably on the couch.

"I have just been told that Green has stopped sleeping pretty much entirely, _willingly_ even, and none of you have done anything about it! Explain yourselves!" She yelled from her position in front of the fireplace. Her hands were planted firmly on her hips, she was not willing to budge an inch on this subject. Red spoke up finally.

"Well, we tried to help him. We didn't know what was going on at first, but there wasn't anything we could do!" He tried to explain. Zelda shook her head.

"Nothing you could do? Do you really think that there was nothing you could do?! You could have told me! I'm sure I could have found something to help him get to sleep! If you really didn't trust me enough with this, you could have visited the local healers! So don't you dare tell me that there was  _nothing you could d_ _o_!" She yelled. The three heroes looked suitably chastised, and they looked at each other uncomfortably. Green finally looked at Zelda. 

"It wasn't their fault, Zelda. I didn't tell them, I didn't let them help me. Don't get angry at them because of it." He sighed, Zelda's eyes softened and her hands fell to her sides.

"Green, you should have told someone. We can help," she explained in a much calmer voice, "Tonight, I want you to go to sleep. I will watch you until you fall asleep if I have to." She turned to the others and let out a breath.

"There is always something you can do. Please, tell me next time something like this happens. This could all have been avoided if you had come to me for help." She turned around and walked outside, a silent form of dismissal.

The four boys left the room, scattering to different places. Red went to the kitchen to do some baking, baked goods could be an excellent apology when the situation demanded it. Blue stalked upstairs to his room to do who knows what, and Green walked upstairs to try to get some rest to appease the angry princess. That left Vio sitting on the couch debating with himself. After a moment of clear hesitation, one side seemed to win over the other, and he stood up slowly from the couch. He exited the house, joining Zelda on the porch.

The princess looked over in shock. She fully expected Vio to have disappeared somewhere to be by himself, but Shadow's words and Vio's behavior the night before struck her. Vio clearly did not look all right. Confusion and guilt was threaded into his usual calm expression, just barely noticeable through his eyes. Vio didn't say anything, just sitting quietly on a chair while Zelda swung on the swinging bench. Zelda smiled over at him.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." she told the purple-clad boy. Vio just waved the comment off.

"You have no reason to be, I should have payed more attention to Green instead of focusing on my own problems," he sighed. Zelda latched on to Vio's words. An opportunity had arisen and Zelda was going to take it.

"Your own problems?" she asked, looking over at Vio. The purple hero was sitting somewhat anxiously on his chair. Zelda noticed the furious mental debate seemed to be back again, it never really seemed to go away for long. 

"Well, I mean..." Vio trailed off, trying to think of an excuse, "Obviously everyone has problems that they need to worry about after saving Hyrule from an evil mastermind." he explained. Zelda hummed thoughtfully.

"Vio, you can talk to me about anything that's bothering you, you know that, right?" She murmured quietly, trying to keep the usually calm and collected Link at peace. Vio looked away at the road in front of the house.

"Yeah..." he murmured in response. The two lapsed into a calming silence, Zelda biding her time to let Vio get comfortable. Finally, after a while of sitting in the calm breeze, Zelda spoke up.

"Something's been on your mind, Vio. I know you don't want to tell me, but I can help." she said, "Like you said, everyone has problems after going on a quest to defeat an evil mastermind." Vio bit his lip and stayed silent. Zelda didn't mind the silence, she knew that Vio couldn't be pushed into talking like Red, he had to feel like it was his choice. Vio sat in the wind for a while before finally deciding to speak again.

"Why are you friends with us?" he asked into the whistling of the wind. Zelda gave a kind smile, she figured he might start it off this way. He likely said 'us' as a replacement of 'I' so that he wouldn't have to admit it himself.

"We've always been friends, Vio." She answered, "I always had fun playing with you when you were Link. All my other friends wanted nothing more than to sit around and talk about boring things all day long." Vio's gaze lowered to his hands. 

"What about now? Why do you bother with all of us? Green acts more like Link than the rest of us. At least, the side of Link you saw." he explained bitterly. Zelda tilted her head.

"Why wouldn't I stay friends with you. You all may be different from Link, but maybe that's not what I want. Link is, and always will be, one of my closest friends. That doesn't mean that he's my only friend. Now I have four more!" she joked in lighthearted fun. Vio gave a very small, forced smile. 

"You said it yourself, you didn't like to hang out with your other friends that just talk about boring stuff, how am I any different? The others are all social and outgoing. Red is always kind, Green is friendly and speaks his mind, Blue is outgoing and fun. What am I? Smart. No one makes friends by being smart." he lamented sadly. Zelda shook her head calmly.

"Is that what's been bugging you? You think you don't have any fun qualities that make you good friend material to others?" she asked quietly. Vio's tense silence told her all she needed to know.

"You know what I think?" she asked rhetorically, "I think you are so much more than just smart. You are super calm, always willing to listen to others. You are very funny, your witty sarcastic comments can make anyone laugh. You are very patient, able to stick with your friends. How many people can say that their best friends beat someone up who was more than three times their size after traveling all over Hyrule to save them? I can, because you and the others were brave and kind enough to help." She took a deep breath, judging how much she had gotten through to him. 

Vio's small smile was echoed a million times over in his eyes. Though most would say it's very hard to read the purple teammate, Zelda always knew exactly where to look. Seeing he wasn't exactly convinced, Zelda decided to barrel on.

"You care enough to risk your life for someone else, simply because it's the right thing to do. When you pretended to become evil on your quest, you never once hesitated because you were scared. Even when you were facing death in lava, you never broke down. Anyone would be very lucky to be your friend." Zelda stated matter-of-factly. Vio finally looked up, meeting Zelda's determined gaze with his own, relieved and thankful one. Zelda smiled and grasped his hand.

"I'm not leaving here until you can tell me exactly why you are perfectly good friend material even if you aren't as social as the others." she declared stubbornly. Vio's smile faltered, leaving him looking tired and weary. 

"Zelda..." he trailed off painfully. Zelda didn't budge an inch, though her eyes softened as she watched the purple Link.

"No, I meant what I said. I'm not leaving here until you do." she repeated again. Vio sighed and looked away, hiding his eyes beneath the hair sticking out from his hat.

"All right," he gave in, "I, I suppose I can be calm and listen to others, I may be funny, and I may be patient, kind, and brave. Are we good now?" Zelda stuck her bottom lip out in a small pout.

"You can't just repeat what I told you!" she huffed, crossing her arms, "you need to find your own good qualities. I know I left more than enough for you to choose from." After a moment of quiet, in which both people stared the other down in an attempt to get their way, Vio finally gave in.

"Fine, fine. I am helpful? he stated in a tone which revealed that it was more of a question than a statement. Zelda shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you? You should know the answer to that yourself!" she explained, relishing slightly in the exasperated look Vio shot at her.

"Okay, I  _am_ helpful. I guess I can be loyal to my friends, and supportive. I can be easygoing. Is that good?" he listed quickly, clearly eager to get this experience over. Zelda shook her head.

"Vio, you need to really believe what you're saying before I let you go back inside. We don't have anything to do for at least five days, I can sit here for every second of those five days if that's what it takes." she emphasized. Vio just groaned quietly. 

"I'm stronger than you Zelda, you can't keep me here." he insisted with his arms crossed. Zelda gave a small smirk.

"You're right, I can't. I can, however, choose to stay here myself. You wouldn't want me to abandon my duties as a princess to sit here because of you? You know full well I am able to sit through the boredom. I got plenty of practice on the tower of winds." She agreed, amusement and victory lacing her voice. She knew that she had won this round. Vio stared at her, trying to detect any traces of lies, proof that she wouldn't  _really_ go through with her thinly veiled threat. He didn't appear to find any as he slumped over and groaned, running a hand over his face.

"Only you could actually threaten to abandon your country to get someone to talk to them, princess. Only you." he sighed, shaking his head in both annoyance and amusement. Zelda smiled in victory as she watched Vio slump over in defeat.

"Lovely! Why don't we make this a bit of a game." she proposed with a clap of her hands, "You list a good quality of yours, and then we both take turns giving examples of times you showed that quality. First one to not be able to think of an example loses. The winner gets one point. After you get ten points, we'll go back inside." Vio smirked, all he had to do was list ten good qualities and say more examples than Zelda. He could be back inside in twenty minutes. Vio accepted the challenge with a glint in his eyes. Zelda, internally, was also doing a bit of a happy dance. Vio had taken the bait just as she had hoped. All she had to do was hold out and get Vio to try so hard to defend himself that he would start believing the things he'd be saying.

"Let's start," Vio murmured lowly, "I am loyal." Vio started. Zelda frowned.

"I already said that one!" She objected. Vio shrugged, smirking already. Zelda rolled her eyes and waved her hand in dismissal.

"Fine, I'll allow this one, but only this one!" she explained sternly. Vio shrugged again.

"Alright," he said simply, "as an example for loyalty, I infiltrated Shadow's tower and faced danger and temptation, all while pretending to hate them. Even with all that, I never lost sight of where my loyalties lie." he stated proudly. Zelda's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Straight to the point," she mused to the purple hero, "picking all the obvious ones to get rid of my options. Clever." Vio's smirk grew larger. 

"It's your move Zelda," he taunted teasingly. Zelda took a moment to organize her thoughts, before starting to speak.

"when you were forced to fight your father during the battle at the palace of winds, you attempted to warn Green against attacking you father using force energy. You showed loyalty to your father in the last ditch attempt to find another solution that wouldn't risk killing him." she added to Vio's statement. Vio pondered over the example, before nodding his head.

"Nice thinking Zelda, but it's my turn now, so you're going to have to think of another example soon," he warned tauntingly, "After Shadow sacrificed himself to help us defeat Vaati, I helped return him to his physical form, showing loyalty to my new friend, Shadow." he put in matter-of-factly. Zelda nodded her head, 

"Good example, but I still have something up my sleeve!" she explained "You showed great loyalty to me, your princess and friend, by journeying all across Hyrule to rescue me." Vio frowned, thinking deeply. 

"I...I..." Vio started, trying to think of another idea, "...I suppose you win this round Zelda. I should have used your idea in the last round, it was too obvious to be left for you to take." Zelda smiled and clapped her hands. 

"Very good! One point to me! Pick the next quality Vio." she exclaimed happily. Vio was silent for a moment, finding a new quality.

"Okay," he started, "let's try persistence." Vio suggested next. Zelda nodded and gestured for Vio to say his example.

"I was very persistent during our travels. After being saved from Shadow at Hyrule castle, I journeyed with the others. Even when I predicted a 50/50 chance of victory, I still stuck with my goals." he added, renewing his confidence. Zelda shifted on the ground and tapped a finger to her lips in thought.

"You were very persitent in helping us cure Shadow. I don't think you would have left the research station if Blue hadn't physically dragged you away!" she reminisced happily. Vio scratched the back of his neck in slight sheepishness.

"I was persitent in trying to research the force crystals to try to get force energy for the four sword. I must have read something new every night before we discovered the force crystals." he put in, setting his hands down, splayed flat on the ground. He locked eyes with Zelda and she frowned.

"I hadn't thought of that one," she mused, "I guess you win this round. Good job with those ideas!" Vio seemed to secretly enjoy the attention and the kind words Zelda gave him. Zelda felt a stab of pride in herself for think of this idea on the spot. She couldn't wait to tell Shadow about this! She was snapped out of her thoughts when Vio said the next category.

"Next up is thoughtfulness," he announced, "I was thoughtful when I helped Erune with her town's problem. We could have just moved on and let the town suffer while we searched for you, but we decided to stay and help." Zelda perked up, eyes narrowing. Thoughtfulness? Vio was clearly in it to win it, well so was she. The two friends competed in their battle of wits for quite a long time, Zelda almost always managing to snatch the round away from Vio. As a result of that, Vio had been playing for longer and longer, so engaged in trying to claim victory. By the time Vio had won ten points, Zelda was nearing forty. Vio had finished feeling much better about himself and Zelda stood up, dusting herself off.

"That was very enjoyable," she commented happily, "You may leave, I hope you feel much better about yourself now!" Vio stopped moving suddenly, freezing as still as a statue. Zelda giggled, guessing that Vio had caught on to what she had done. Vio looked at her incredulously, a mixture of confusion, realization, and utter awe on his face. Zelda merely pushed her hair behind her ear and stared right back at him. Vio shook his head, still laughter shone in his eyes. 

"That," he started, then shook his head, restarting, "Thank you, Zelda. I really do feel much better." Pure sincerity and relief replaced the aforementioned look on his face. 

"You have got to tell me how you did that, I'm sure it could help Blue when he gets angry at us," he laughed in disbelief. Zelda merely shrugged.

"You have nothing to thank me for, you did everything yourself," she countered quietly, before walking back inside. 

"Liar, Zelda, that was a lie and you know it!" Vio called after her. Zelda hid a smile behind her hand as she walked inside. She truly had much to tell Shadow about. Poor Vio wouldn't live it down for a year if Shadow got his way. 

The voices came back to her head, awe lacing their powerful voices.

"You have done well, saving our Peace in a way only you could have done. Beware, as you help the others, Courage grows weaker every moment, exhausting his flickering flame."

Zelda hummed in approval. She had done well, hadn't she? Perhaps there was hope yet.


	6. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda talks with Blue, hoping to get him back to normal like the others. While she tries to help the blue teammate, Green's behavior begins to worsen dramatically. Not only that, but a dangerous slip up while trying to talk to Blue leaves Zelda facing even more problems. Can she really get through this before her time runs out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! finally finished this chapter!! I'm in the middle of trying to move and starting a new school, so it's a little hard to find the time to post, but I'll try to keep it more towards the once a week or once every two weeks if things go bad. I left it on a cliff hanger, I'm sorry, but I promise I'll update really soon. Writing Blue like this was so hard. 
> 
> On a more lighthearted note, more Shadow! Not much, but I try to keep his parts lighthearted and fun. If everything was super somber and full of tension, it would be way too boring. 
> 
> Thank you to the people who left kudos on this! notall2gether, you have an awesome username. Really creative! You made me laugh for a good three minutes after reading it. A huge thank you to my faithful reviewers who left reviews on most of my chapters, one person on this website and one on Fanfiction.net, you two really make my day. I'm really sorry if you decided to leave the story due to my prolonged absence, I honestly promise that it won't happen again if I can help it. For those of you who stayed and are reading this, Thank you! I really hope you enjoy this chapter, as I really enjoyed writing it, especially the first and last scenes!
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

"I can't believe it!" Shadow laughed hysterically, "You convinced Vio to argue against himself! I can't breathe! Oh sweet Farore, I can't even!" Zelda watched as Shadow rolled around on the couch, clutching his stomach in his incessant laughter. 

"It makes sense though, I would never have been able to beat him myself, so I just got him to argue in my place." She shrugged nonchalantly, yet a proud smile was set on her face. Zelda waited until Shadow's laughter slowly died down to occasional giggles before speaking.

"So Green really has been sleeping?" she asked Shadow with a worried frown. Shadow smirked, showing his small fang-like teeth.

"Not willingly. Ever since you talked to everyone yesterday morning, I've been keeping an eye on him. He ends up falling asleep as soon as he realizes I'm watching him though." he snorted, glancing over at Zelda. Zelda looked back with concern in her eyes.

"He's not keeping you from your night though, is he?" She asked carefully. Shadow shook his head, putting his hands behind his head and laying back on the couch.

"Nah, you guys usually go to bed at eleven, Green falls asleep by half past midnight, and that gives me six and a half hours to explore Hyrule and have fun," he recounted, counting his fingers to get the times right. Zelda's concerned frown turned into a relieved smile.

"That's good, I hope he's starting to get better," she exhaled deeply. Shadow nodded in agreement and the two lay in companionable silence for a moment. Zelda stood up and smoothed the creases on her dress.

"I should get to sleep," she told the black-clad Link with a soft yawn, "Have a good night Shadow." she said quietly, and walked up the stairs and straight to her bedroom. As she walked by, she glanced in Vio's room and was glad to see that the purple teammate was getting some rest. Red was curled up and asleep in his room, and Blue was sprawled out on hi bed, drooling slightly. She would have glanced in Green's room, but the door was closed. She did, however, listen for a moment, and caught the sound of snores coming from behind the door. She smiled as she got ready for bed.

As she drifted off to sleep, she could have sworn she heard the snores stop from Green's room. She was too tired to think about what that could entail, Green wouldn't pretend to be asleep to trick them, would he? She settled uncomfortably into the soft blankets and let her uncertainty get carried away into the soft embrace of sleep.

* * *

 

Morning came with more voices booming in her head and Zelda awoke with a silent groan of annoyance.

"As the roots spread,

as the bell chimes,

as your time runs out,

everything is lost. 

To save our Courage from the roots of evil,

you will need Hope, Peace, and Strength.

Save our strength, for he will stand firm in the flood of disaster.

Save our strength, for he will save you." The voices echoed in their poetic lilting voices. Zelda rubbed her head in clear annoyance.

"They had better mean Blue," she grumbled unhappily, "why do they have to speak in such confusing poetry! They couldn't just, i dunno, tell me what to do in regular understandable words?" Zelda shook her head to clear the fogginess of sleep and stood up, stretching. If everything was going well, Red and Vio would be back to normal and Zelda could talk with them. The voices seemed to think that they could help. Unless Zelda was totally interpreting the confusing riddles in an extremely wrong way. Zelda figured she had a 75/25 percent chance of being right with her interpretations.

She got herself dressed and brushed her hair until she looked presentable, before walking downstairs. The voices had let her get an extra hour or two of sleep, instead of waking her up at dawn like before, so Red was already in the kitchen making breakfast. The scent of warm, fresh muffins wafted up the stairs, and Zelda's stomach rumbled in anticipation. She walked towards the kitchen and was very glad to see Green already at the table, clad in his warm pyjamas. Red shushed her as soon as she stepped foot into the kitchen, pointing at Green's unmoving form at the table.

"He's asleep," Red whispered quietly from the counter, "He was down here before I was! I think he woke up in the middle of the night and thought it was morning! Vio does that sometimes, it's funny!" Zelda laughed as quietly as she could, and sat down in the spot next to the sleeping hero. Green barely stirred, burrowing his head deeper in his arms in his sleep. Zelda chatted amicably with Red as the excitable boy cooked breakfast.

The morning progressed on and the others trickled in slowly. When Red finally finished breakfast, everyone with the exception of Green was awake and enjoying pleasant conversation. Zelda's eyes flitted over to where Blue was sitting on the other side of the table silently, just watching the others with an unreadable expression on his face. Red beamed from the counter.

"You know, I don't think we've had this much fun since we came here!" he exclaimed thoughtfully, "Well, breakfast is ready anyways, so why don't we wake Green up?" Vio hummed in agreement.

"You're right, I can't remember the last time we could just relax and talk like this," he sighed in response. Zelda leaned over to Green across the table and shook his shoulder. 

"Green, wake up!" she said quietly. Green shot up quickly.

"Huh? wha- I'm up!" he stated with a tired slur to his words.

Zelda giggled with a hand over her mouth. Green's eyes flickered to everyone around the table, and back finally on Zelda.

"Good morning!" Zelda greeted the green-clad Link happily, "Glad to see that you've been sleeping okay!" Green's eyes flickered to a sheepish smile, and he waved the comment away.

"Yeah, yeah. I've been sleeping just fine!" he agreed quickly. Vio frowned from his spot beside Zelda, but said nothing. Red called over to the small group, waving a fork in the air.

"Guys, come get breakfast!" He calles, prompting the others to look over. The four people at the table all wandered over to the counter at their own pace and got breakfast. Zelda was very happy to note that the breakfast was the best start to the morning yet. People actually talked, and enjoyed the playful bantering. Well, everyone except Blue. Green even participated, though the bags under his eyes were still very prominent. Blue dodged the questions and banter with a talent Zelda didn't know he possessed. As soon as he was done eating, he put his dishes away and walked upstairs. Although Zelda was listening to Red's talk about whatever flitted through his mind, her eyes followed Blue worriedly as he walked upstairs. Red gasped as an idea seemed to come to mind. 

"Ooh! Guys! Why don't we have a picnic today in the woods!" he suggested, pointing at the woods outside, "It's so nice outside, and we can spend some time with all five of us!" Zelda clapped her hands and smiled widely.

"That's a lovely idea, Red!" she gushed happily, "I'll make some little sandwiches to bring!" Vio and Green both shrugged, but accepted the offer graciously, though Green looked a little put out. Zelda stood up from the table, making sure to push in her chair.

"I'll go tell Blue," she told the others before exiting the kitchen. The others nodded in thanks and went to do their own thing. Vio helped Red put the dishes away, and Green walked out of the room, heading for the bathroom. Zelda, for her part, walked lightly upstairs to talk to Blue. She was going to inform him about the picnic idea Red had, but she wasn't going to lie and say that it was the only reason for going. Blue certainly didn't give her many opportunities to sit and talk, so having a justifiable reason like this would be a lovely start.

"Blue," she called, knocking quietly on the door. There was silence for a moment, only broken by the shuffling of movement inside the room. Finally, Blue poked his head outside the door, keeping it almost entirely closed so that no one would be able to see into the room. 

"What is it," he asked, keeping the sentence as short and clipped as possible. Zelda smiled sweetly and maneuvered herself around the door in a way that made it impossible for Blue to keep the door completely shut and still keep talking to her.

"Red had the most splendid idea!" she began happily. As she had hoped, Blue opened the door a little ways wider and Zelda walked past him into the room. Blue frowned, but followed her to sit on his neat bed. 

"Yeah," he stated, "What's so special about this one?" Zelda sat down on a chair at Blue's desk, turning to face Blue fully.

"Well, seeing as everyone seems to enjoy being on their own instead of having fun all together, Red had the amazing idea of going out to have a picnic in the fields near the castle!" 

"No. Absolutely not."

"Blue..."

"Zelda I'm busy, having a picnic will just be wasted time. You'll chat with everyone, Red will go chase butterflies or something, Green will enjoy the tranquility, and Vio will be able to take a breather and enjoy the mindless chatter you guys have and the weather. What'll I do? Nothing good, that's what." Blue stated with a sense of finality. Zelda seemed to pout as much as the usually regal up kept princess could.

"That's not true Blue! You'll have lots of fun with the rest of us as well!" She contradicted, crossing her arms. Blue rolled his eyes.

"Listen, I'm not going to argue this with you. Thanks for inviting me, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline." he retorted with a pointed look at the princess. Zelda pursed her lips in thought. She really didn't want to argue with Blue, but she didn't want to accept defeat and leave Blue alone. If Shadow's hypothesis and the strange voices' opinions were to be believed, Blue was digging his own grave with his reclusive actions. If only she knew what made him want to be so alone and independant. Zelda exhaled loudly and looked back at Blue.

"Fine. I'm not going to force you to join us, but I at least want to talk with you for a little before we go on the picnic." she compromised, sending her own pointed look towards the blue-clad hero that told him she would not back down on this one. Blue seemed to grit his teeth slightly, clearly not pleased with the sudden turn the conversation had taken.

"alright,  _Princess_ ," he said with a forced smile, putting emphasis on the title, "What do you want to talk about." Zelda sighed internally, desperately wanting to avoid fighting with Blue, but not wanting to back down either. Why not just get straight to the point. Blue was not the sort of person to dance lightly around the topic with, choosing to just barge ahead and deal with the elephant in the room. Zelda doubted that trait would be easily erased, pride was a very strong source of motivation for the blue Link.

"Blue, why have you been hiding away in your room this entire time?" she asked, leaning her elbows on her knees and propping her chin with one hand. As expected, Blue immediately tensed up and denied the claim.

"What are you talking about? I've been coming down to talk with you guys every day for meals and waiting for Shadow!" he exclaimed, dropping all pretenses of polite dismissal like before.

"Blue, I'm only visiting for a little while, I don't want to only see you at meals or at night. I'd like to spend time with you like we did before when you were Link. You know, spending time talking, looking at flowers... Now that I can spend a little more time away from the castle, I want to see you more!" she replied, defending her point almost viciously. 

"Yeah, that's the problem princess. I'm not Link. I'm Blue, and I can't offer you the same things that Link could. If you want to talk, go discuss things with Vio, if you want to play and pick flowers, go find Red. I'm not them, I'm not Link." he spat back in a scathing tone. Although his tone expressed anger and bristling viciousness, his eyes seemed lost. It seemed as though he had put a lot of thought into the words he was saying. Perhaps Zelda had stumbled on the thing she was looking for. Zelda's eyes softened and her frown lightened up quite a bit. 

"I'm not asking for Link, Blue. I know that you are different, but I wouldn't be up here trying to talk to you if I only wanted to talk with Vio and play with Red." She insisted, though calmer than before, the words still held the passion and determination that Zelda tried to get across. Blue shook his head, all tension seeming to run out of his body.

"Well," he exclaimed, chuckling in bitter self-depreciation, "it's been three days and no one has tried talking to me. You all seem to be having much more fun without me, and I don't need your  _pity_!" the short rant grew into a shout at the end, Blue's hands tightened into fists and his nose scrunched up with his bitter scowl. The tension in his body was back, Zelda winced at the sharp words being spat out. 

"It's not pity Blue," she started, ignoring Blue's snort of disbelief and pushing on, "You have no idea how hard you've made it for us to talk to you. I've been trying ever since I got here. You just shut yourself in your room so much, it's hard to find the time." Blue glared up at her with anger and hatred in his eyes, whether it was directed at himself or at her, Zelda wasn't sure. She felt tears rise to blur her vision slightly.

"Oh, so it's my fault?! You think I just shut myself in my room and purposefully ignored everyone?! You think I'm-I'm asking for this or something?!" he shouted, standing up and flinging his arms around as he gestured. Zelda could feel tears trace lines down her cheeks, dangling on her chin. She felt anger surge up in her, the whole unfairness and the pressure finally breaking loose inside her.

"I don't know what to think! I come here for a visit and everyone is acting all weird and going off alone! What am I supposed to think?! Am I supposed to just leave you all here to dwell in your misery and  _die?!_ Apparently that's what you all think! But no! I'm here trying to pick up the pieces of this absolute  _disaster_ you four have somehow managed to create and you all brush me off and refuse to talk to me! Am I even your friend anymore?! Or have you all decided that I'm not good enough now that you've been split into four and are the heroes of Hyrule! Is your best friend not good enough for you?! I may have been Link's friend, but I would hope that I would be able to call myself yours too! And you know what?! I'm getting incredibly tired of this... this... madness that you've created for yourself! No one ever thinks of how this whole thing could be affecting me! I'm not invincible, you know!" she screamed right back, her eyes closed tightly in a useless attempt to stop the tears that were flooding down her cheeks. She waited for a response, eyes never opening, but she was just met with silence. Eventually her eyes opened and she wiped her tears with her gloved hands, sniffling a little after her outburst. 

After a few tense seconds, she raised her eyes to look at Blue. The strong, courageous hero was staring at the princess, his own tears flowing freely down his face. He was slumped over and his eyes hovered around hers, looking at her, but avoiding direct contact with her eyes. Zelda hiccuped, calming down from her small fit. THe two sat in silence, Blue having sunken down on the edge of the bed again sometime after Zelda's screaming. Finally, the silence was broken by Blue's uncharacteristically quiet and sorrowful voice.

"I'm sorry. I didn't... I had no clue this was affecting you this much. I was just so focused on myself and..." he trailed off uncertainly, letting all of his regret pour into his speech. 

"Just tell me Blue, I want to help you but you're making it  _so hard_ " she murmured, hearing her voice crack on the last words. Blue shoved his face into his hands and let out a couple of sniffles. Blue never ever showed anyone this side of him. He must have been extremely hurt by whatever was making him act like this for him to open up.

"I'm not anyone important now. I'm just the strong Link that can defeat a hundred enemies with one hand tied behind his back." he began, letting out a soft sniffle form behind his hands. Zelda shook her head, though Blue couldn't see it.

"That's rather impressive Blue, it's certainly not a bad thing." she tried to explain, but Blue cut her off before she could elaborate.

"Not alone it isn't, but when your country is all at peace and all is fine and dandy, what good am I then?" Zelda wisely chose not to speak, letting Blue get all his emotions out. "With no enemies to fight, I'm just a figure put on a pedestal to parade around town. The others are all helpful at least. Vio's wisdom and intellect mean that he's helping in the research and preventing future disasters, Red is boosting everyone's spirits and cheering everyone up just by being in the same area as everyone, Green is a natural leader and is already re-organizing and changing Hyrule's defences for the future. What can I do?" he asked, looking up at the ceiling at the end of his small spheal. Zelda put her hand on his shoulder, ignoring the small flinch of surprise in response for the time being.

"You're helpful, Vio's not the only one helping prepare for the future, you're always dropping by the other knights at practice and giving suggestions to the newer recruits. You have amazing ideas too, just different ones. Red's also not the only one who's boosting moral. People look up to you, and I always see you take the time to help people and lift their spirits. Just because Red has a larger effect to change people's attitude, doesn't mean you don't do similar. I've seen you change people's entire lives just by talking to them. I've seen you help a kid with his sword technique, and later, I would always hear his father; one of my royal guards, telling everyone else how you gave him courage, hope, and most importantly, the importance of perseverance. In a couple years, I'd bet a large sum of rupees that he'll be passing the tests to become a royal guard just like  _you_! You're his hero! You also are amazing at taking charge and putting plans into motion to help Hyrule like Green. While you might not be a natural leader like him, people know to listen to you. My royal court never gets anything done, always planning but never doing. You're different. You find ideas and you put them into motion, fixing things in ways that are so unique and so Blue. You're just as helpful as the others. Why can't you see that!" 

Blue didn't move for the longest time, letting Zelda's words sink into his head. After a moment, he brushed away some stray tears, and lunged at Zelda, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. Zelda just hugged back, offering the silent consolement that Blue needed. They stayed like that for a while, unmoving and seemingly frozen in place, but the rhythmical rise and falls of their chests spoke otherwise. Eventually, Blue detangled himself from Zelda's arms, looking away as a deep crimson blush spread across his cheeks and on his ears.

"That never happened if Shadow asks. Or anyone else, you hear me?" he stated, not managing to sound all that threatening. Zelda smiled, and nodded her head.

"Alright Blue, whatever you say." she agreed. Blue nodded his head as well and mumbled something under his breath, before looking back at Zelda, still trying to avoid eye contact. 

"I, uh, I think Red should be done preparing for the picnic, and you never told them that I wasn't coming, so..." he trailed off, looking for an excuse. Zelda saw right through him and held out her hand for him to grab.

"It would be a shame to let Red's cooking go to waste," she provided helpfully. Blue took the casually suggested idea.

"Yeah, right. Wouldn't want Red to start crying over his food again." he muttered quietly taking her hand. Zelda giggled and nudged him playfully.

"Blue!" she laughed, "That's mean!" Blue huffed and looked away again.

"Whatever," he muttered, "It's still true. He cries over everything." Zelda shook her head and led them out of Blue's room to find the others. They didn't have to go far, as Vio and Red were standing outside their door, not looking very impressed. 

"Wha- Why are you guys standing outside my door!" Blue yelled at the two. Vio's arms were crossed, one eyebrow raised as he tapped his left foot. Red was just concerned and looked on the verge of tears.

"You have no right to be demanding things." Vio began, voice steely and stern. Zelda furrowed her eyebrows and looked quizzically at the two. 

"What did you mean when you said you were avoiding trying to, and I quote, 'leave us here to dwell in our misery and die'." Vio continued in the same sharp tone. Red's eyes welled up with tears again.

"Why would we die? It feels like you know something we don't" he asked somberly in a very quiet voice. Zelda let out a silent gasp of surprise and tried to think of an excuse, but nothing was coming to mind. Blue was now looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah, come to think of it, you did say that! That's not just somethign you throw around and use as an exaggeration! What's going on?" he exclaimed, turning his attention on her. She grasped at straws in her mind, searching for a shred of an idea to use, but her mind was blank, and for once in her life, she had no plan. Zelda took a step backwards, going as far as to ask the voices that appeared in her head that morning for any help. She was rewarded with nothing but silence. Vio stepped forwards menacingly, narrowing his eyes. 

"What are you hiding from us, Zelda?"


	7. Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Red, Blue, and Vio discover what Zelda's been trying to do throughout her visit, the three of them (and Shadow) must convince Zelda that she's not alone. Zelda, for her part, must figure out what really is haunting Green in one final try as they race against the clock without giving in to her stress and fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back! Yay! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it felt very... dramatic. And long, this chapter is 7,114 words. I can't believe I'm past 20,000 words total already with this story!! A huge thank you to the people who left kudos on the story, and another to those who left reviews on the story. The reviews I got were a huge help to stop me from getting stressed about updating. 
> 
> This story is almost done! I'm working on an epilogue that will be out soon, and that will be the end of this story.
> 
> *IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ THE END NOTES FOR DETAILS ABOUT WHAT I AM PLANNING TO DO WITH THIS STORY*
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

"Tell us, Zelda, What's going on here?" Vio reiterated. Zelda opened the door to Blue's room and ushered everyone inside.

"Alright, I need you to stay calm please. Does Green know anything?" Zelda asked patiently, settling down on the edge of the bed. Red shook his head rapidly.

"No, he's outside in our garden. Why do you ask? Is he important?" Zelda grimaced faintly and sighed.

"Yes and no. If I tell you, can you promise to keep this a secret? At least for now?" she waited until all three had voiced their agreements before continuing, "Shadow and I think there were some side effects to staying split as four people. Your emotions went all out of order and blew up in your faces. I've been trying to help you all before you exhaust yourselves through the sheer stress of it and... well, die. I haven't gotten to Green yet." The three Links all seemed shocked at the very condensed, simplified version, but accepted it nonetheless. Vio hummed thoughtfully.

"That's what you were doing when we were sitting outside yesterday.." he mused out loud. Zelda nodded, feeling a little sheepish. Red perked up considerably.

"Oh! And when I was in the woods, you were helping me then too?" he asked, following Vio's example, Blue interrupted Red, cutting in at the end of his sentence.

"Yeah! and just now, you were trying to talk to me and stop me from dying, right?" Zelda nodded her head again,

"Yes and yes." she agreed, "I've been trying to find the time to talk to Green, but he's not listening to me." Blue hesitated, before asking a question slowly.

"So... are we fixed? Are we going to just, die in our sleep or something? How does this all work?" he asked, flining questions faster than Zelda could answer them. Zelda took a few moments t collect her thoughts, before doing her best to answer.

"As far as I can tell, yes, no, and I have absolutely no clue." she explained, counting the answers on her fingers to keep track of Blue's barrage of questions. Blue accepted the answers with little fuss, and went on to ask even more.

"How did you even know we were acting odd? I didn't feel any different, maybe you're just imagining it and we're all completely normal." he suggested. Zelda frowned, recalling the incidents of the previous days.

"No, you were pretty obvious about it. You refused to leave your room for longer than the few meal times, Red became all secretive and lashed out more often, and Vio gave me a hug." she listed carefully, "and that's just a few things that I saw." Blue suddenly choked and let out a large gasp.

"Hold on, Vio gave you a hug?! As in, willingly without any reason?!" he exclaimed, Zelda tilted her head and hummed an affirmation. Bursting out in laughter, Blue fell back on his bed in tears. Vio was blushing a scarlet red in embarrassment and hunched his shoulders over, making him seem smaller. Red's smile grew back in full force, eyes lighting up in hope.

"Really?! Can I have a hug too?! You never give me hugs!!" he cried out in excitement. 

"NO!!" Vio snapped angrily, "Calm down, Blue, we all did things we normally wouldn't do. Get over it!" Blue managed to calm himself down, realizing a serious moment when it appeared.

"Fine, fine. We have other things to discuss anyways." he relented, wiping a stray tear from his eye. Red, who was slouched over and pouting with his arms crossed in front of him, frowned.

"I still can't believe you got hug and I didn't." he huffed, but also managed to calm down to go back to listening to Zelda. Vio, pinching the bridge of his nose, glared at the two others until they quit their antics.

"So what you're saying, is that we almost died, but didn't because you talked us out of our stress-inducing states, and Green is still standing outside wallowing in some sort of life threatening sadness or anger that will kill him at any given time?" Vio rephrased, watching Zelda's face for a response. Zelda's eyes flickered to the other two before nodding uncertainly. 

"Yes?" she responded, asking more than stating a clear answer, "I don't think he'll die per se, our best bet is that he'll just succumb to his emotions and wallow in his despair, growing more and more miserable for the rest of his life until he dies." Blue let out an indignant squak and stared at Zelda like she had grown a second head.

"Why would you even say that!" he exclaimed loudly, "that might as well be death, and that's just terrifying! Just say yes and be done with it!" he ran his hand through his hair, and Zelda saw how his eyes darted out towards the doorway, clearly torn between wanting to go check on Green, and not wanting to see the results if they weren't good. Red was much more obvious with his concern. Tears welled up in his eyes and began streaming down his face.

"That's so sad!" he bawled, "Green must be so sad right now!" Vio shushed him, but otherwise looked completely lost in thought.

"What can we do to help?" he asked, blinking his eyes a couple of times to focus them again. Zelda smiled, feeling grateful that the others were willing to help, and feeling very stupid for not going to them sooner to ask for help. 

"Green's running out of time, I need him to feel comfortable. You guys can try to stay happy, I don't want him getting suspicious of anything if you guys start acting really different all of a sudden." Red, Vio, and Blue looked at each other, nodding solemnly.

"We'll do that, sounds easy enough. What'll you do, though?" Blue replied, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back comfortably. Zelda smiled softly, planning her move.

"I'll confront Green and talk some sense into him," she sighed quietly. The four Links stood up one at a time and headed towards the door.

"We'll go downstairs, maybe being around us will calm him down! I always feel better when I'm around you guys!" Red exclaimed as he practically sprinted out of the very neat room. Zelda put a hand over her heart, Red could be very sweet sometimes. Vio and Blue also seemed touched, but a little stunned. Of course Blue coughed awkwardly and left in a hurry as well, not wanting to show that he was touched as well, he was to tough for that apparently. Vio shook her head and let out a chuckle, following the others' path. Zelda was the last to leave, shutting the door behind her and going to find Green. 

Zelda walked downstairs, recalling Red talking about how Green was outside in the small garden. A burst of fresh warm air engulfed her as soon as she stepped outside, which would have felt really nice had it not blown all of her hair into her face. She tried to swat the hair out of the way, and spent a few seconds pulling and brushing it out of her eyes with her fingers. She finally managed to tame the wild curls back into their previous hairstyle, and looked up to see Green sitting outside with his back facing her. He wasn't moving, but seemed to have been in the middle of picking some tomatoes from the tomato plant.

Zelda walked over to him, sitting down beside the unmoving boy and giving his shoulder a solid poke. As expected, Green startled and floundered on the ground, clawing at the air desperately in an unsuccessful attempt at keeping his balance. Green fell on the grass and looked up at Zelda with a slightly accusing and exhausted look on his face. Zelda's heart sank as she looked at him up close.

"You still haven't been sleeping," she said mournfully. Green blinked at the hurt look on Zelda's face. Zelda's eyes welled with tears.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" she asked Green quietly, pulled her hands away and looking out at the forest to try to keep herself from crying. She felt sad, no, more than sad. Despaired. Green really had been so desperate to not sleep that he had pretended to sleep until Shadow left. He had been so desperate to not sleep that he had tricked all of them. Vio, Red, and Blue walked out to see what was going on outside. 

"What's wrong?" Blue asked, stopping with Red and Vio a few meters back from the duo. Green tensed up, and shook his head sadly. Zelda could tell that he was guilty for their reactions, but he wasn't sorry. Did he not understand that they had his best interests at heart? Green stood up suddenly and brushed past everyone to go inside. Red walked over and sat down beside Zelda, but she stood up and followed Green's path back into the house, fighting tears. She heard Green's door close, and walked past it, heading to her room. She just needed a rest after stressing out all day.

She slumped over on her bed and let herself drift off to an uncertain sleep. 

* * *

"When lost in the raging storm of fear,

your Hope, Peace, and Strength, will bring you back to where skys are clear.

You try so hard to save others from fear and despair

but who will save you before you become broken beyond repair.

The time is now to save your Courage,

with friends by your side, you can make it through this.

One final try to bring him back,

before he's gone and all is black.

Zelda awoke slowly, snuggling into the blankets beneath her. There was still light outside, so she hadn't been asleep for more than a couple of hours. She did figure that it would be close to supper time, so she ought to head downstairs and apologize for rushing off in a huff like she did. She hauled herself out of her bed and brushed her hair out, only feeling more and more guilty over her hasty exit a few hours prior. The voices that were back in her head only added to the stress and guilt she was facing. One final try? She really didn't like the sound of that. She hadn't come anywhere close to succeding before, what made the voices think that this last try would work?

Zelda walked downstairs with a slightly nervous smile set in place, not that anyone would notice it, being a princess she had learned to hide nervousness and fear from power hungry advisors who would love to prove her unworthy to the throne. As soon as she arrived in the small living room, she noted that everyone was there minus Green and, of course, Shadow. They all looked up as she entered and greeted her kindly. Red apologized profusely for supposedly upsetting her, to which Zelda denied the self-accusations and offered an apology of her own. Red didn't look very convinced that he wasn't to blame, but he nodded ecstatically all the same. 

"Where's Green?" she asked Red, as Vio had returned to his book, and Blue was half-asleep on the couch. Red shrugged his shoulders after a moment of thought.

"i think he's still in his room, he hasn't left since you went up if that's what you're wondering," he responded quietly. Zelda pursed her lips in thought, before she was pulled out of them by Vio.

"Give him some time, Zelda. He's not going to listen to you if you're constantly chasing him around," the purple-clad boy suggested. Zelda looked over, startled, before nodding hesitantly. Blue clapped his hands, tired of listening to the solemn and boring chat.

"You guys need to lighten up," he suddenly exclaimed, he smirked and stuck a thumb at his chest in pride, "I'm cooking supper tonight, and it's going to be so good, you all will have to snap out of your stupid, sad, worrying!" Everyone just stared at him, not looking very impressed. 

"Blue," Vio started slowly, "last time you cooked there were so many spices that no one could eat it without losing their taste buds," Blue stood up and frowned.

"That was last time!" he exclaimed with just as much enthusiasm, "This time will be better!" Vio turned to Red and sighed.

"Red, you ought to go keep an eye on him." he suggested tiredly. Red paled, but ran off to join Blue in the kitchen. Zelda chuckled, and couldn't stop her eyes from going back to the stairs where she knew Green was still staying. The constant, while fleeting, looks did not go unnoticed by Vio, who leaned over and put his hand on her knee.

"You need to stop, Green will be fine. Red will help Blue make supper and you'll see him when he comes down." he consoled calmly. Zelda let out a frustrated sigh.

"I know, I know. I just can't stop worrying, what if we're running out of time and he's already gone? What if we're not doing enough?" she wondered out loud to her friend. Vio looked over and smiled as comfortingly as he could.

"You told me yesterdat that you wouldn't leave me until I was confident in myself. Green doesn't need that, he needs you to be there for him when he's ready to talk, and not before." he explained to her seriously. Zelda opened her mouth as if to dissuade his idea, but Vio cut her off with a shake of his head.

"No, he knows that you'll listen, so sit back and enjoy your vacation without thinking of what you have to do. This is your only vacation for a while, and while we'll still visit the castle all the time, you should enjoy the break from your duties as princess." he interrupted before she could speak. Zelda's features softened and she nodded her head.

"...You're right, thank you Vio. I really needed that," she said, letting out a soft breath. Red stuck his head out from the kitchen, smiling his usual large, friendly smile.

"Hey! Supper's ready. Blue made soup," he trailed off slightly and whispered the last part of his sentence, "I convinced him not to make anything more complicated!" The two in the living room nodded and chuckled a little bit. Vio turned back to Zelda as they stood up from their seats, giving a last comforting smile. Zelda gave a relieved smile in return, giving one last glance at the stairwell before putting Green at the back of her mind for the time being. Vio was right, she needed to take a  break from all the worrying she had been doing. She joined the other two at the table, enjoying the dinner and the pleasant company for what it was, putting all the stressful thoughts away to spend time with her friends. 

The dinner was lovely, if simple, and Zelda had truly had time to relax and have a good laugh with her friends. Vio's words had helped calm her down, she would likely have done something she would have later regretted if Vio hadn't reassured her. She was so glad she wasn't working alone anymore. The four friends chatted for the rest of the evening, forgetting their troubles to just laugh and talk the night away. Shadow woke up and came down part way through one of Zelda's jokes, grinning smugly as per usual. Blue greeted him with a high five and an apology for being rude before. Shadow turned to Zelda happily.

"You got Blue to open up today, didn't you?" he asked, taking a seat beside Red, who launched himself at Shadow with a massive hug. Zelda laughed, very pleased at the brotherly bond already tying Shadow to the other Links. Shadow tolerated the hug as if he was used to it, even going so far as to pat Red's back before squirming his way free from the crushing embrace. 

"Yeah, this afternoon we talked everything out, there's only Green left," Zelda replied happily.

"So I heard, you were very loud," he commented offhandedly, lounging back on the couch. "I'm glad you told Red, Blue, and Vio though, you seem much more relaxed now that they know." Blue recoiled in shock.

"Wait a moment, how do  _you_ know that  _we_ know about everything?" he demanded loudly. Shadow's smirk widened in amusement, showing his fangs.

"Well for one, when I asked Zelda if you had opened up, no one reacted, and secondly, like I said, you were very loud in your shouting match. You probably could have awoken the dead with all that screaming," he listed out, ticking things off with his fingers. he turned his attention to Zelda as he continued, "You really are lucky that Green didn't decide to investigate or overhear you like those two," he added, inclining his head towards Vio and Red. Zelda nodded, slumping back on the seat. Vio chose that moment to change the subject to something different.

"So, where are you looking to go tonight?" he asked Shadow quizzically. Shadow looked over at him, and then flickered his gaze to the ceiling in thought. His fingers tapped against the back of his head as he thought.

"I dunno," he started with a shrug, "I wasn't sure where you were at with Green. If you guys need my help, I can always stay here tonight," he mused to the four. Zelda shook her head.

"No, it's fine. We have to wait for him to come to us anyways," she shared a look with Vio, "I don't think we'll get any progress tonight." Shadow nodded his head in thought.

"Yeah, that's fair. In that case I think I'll go to death mountain and find my old castle. It's been a while since I've been there." he considered. Vio's stared into space. That place was probably a touchy subject, full of conflicted memories. Shadow seemed to realize that, and hastened to change the subject.

"Oh, Vio! Gosh I'm stupid." he muttered as he hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. "So, uh, how was the day? Do you know if anyone knows how I can go out during the day yet?" Zelda shook her head regretfully.

"I'm sorry Shadow, I haven't talked with anyone back at the castle yet. I'll get to it once I return." she promised sadly. Shadow simply shrugged nonchalantly and recovered his signature smirk.

"Nah, that's alright. I don't need to go out in the day anytime soon, I just thought it'd be cool to be out in the light without burning. If I could wait my entire life, what's a few more days?" he responded with wave of his hand.

Zelda felt a small seed of guilt, but she accepted Shadow's explanation. After chatting with everyone until they were all fighting yawns, Shadow proposed that the four others head to bed.

"Hey," he started after watching Vio and Blue yawn for what must have been the thousandth time that evening, "you guys are keeping me from my night, you guys should head up to bed to let me get on my way before the sun decides to interrupt me." The four laughed tiredly, knowing that was Shadow's way of saying that he didn't want to keep them awake for too long and that he didn't want to be responsible for them being tired the next morning. Zelda yawned softly and stood up.

"I'll bet Green isn't asleep yet, I'll wait for him to fall asleep tonight," she told Shadow, "That way you can make it to death mountain before the sun comes up," Shadow thanked her, and left out the front door. Blue stood up and stretched, turning to face Zelda with his arms crossed.

"I'll stay up with you while you watch Green. I don't need to sleep too long tonight." he suggested. Zelda gratefully accepted the offer and walked up stairs, calling good nights to Red and Vio, who were following not too far behind her. She slipped into her pyjamas and brushed her teeth for bed. She was going to head out of her room to go to Green's, when she heard a soft knock on her door. Frowning, Zelda went to open it, revealing Red already in his fuzzy pyjamas. She opened the door wide enough for him to enter, before closing it again.

"Hey Red," she began, a little confused, "What are you doing here?" Red smiled tiredly and walked over to give Zelda a hug.

"I was thinking about earlier, and I really wanted to say thank you," he admitted quietly, "You've been so stressed and all over the place, now I know why. I know Green's making you upset, but you'll be fine. I'm sure you'll figure everything out tomorrow." Zelda hugged the pyjama-clad boy back, thankful for the support.

"Thank you, Red," she replied sincerely, "I just wish I had as much faith in myself as you seem to," Red let go of Zelda and looked at her with a large smile.

"It's fine, I have enough faith in you for the both of us, and so do Vio and Blue." he declared proudly, "Look after Green tonight, ad tomorrow I'm positive you'll get to the bottom of this. You know, you're probably stronger than all five of us combined, we're all supporting you in this, you aren't alone. Just you wait, Green will be back to normal in no time at all!" Zelda pulled Red back for another hug, before releasing him and giving him one last smile.

"I really needed that, so thanks," she stated with a sigh, "but I have to go make sure Green gets to sleep. Have a good night," Red nodded and headed out of the room, somehow still managing to look happy and energetic, even late at night. Zelda soon followed his example and walked over to Green's room. Blue was waiting inside, arguing quietly in hushed tones with Green who was sitting on his bed with his arms crossed. Both boys faltered as soon as Zelda walked in.

"Zelda, tell Green that he isn't getting out of going to sleep." Blue huffed at her, frustrated, but looking like he was trying hard not to yell or hit something. Zelda furrowed her eyebrows and looked over at Green, who was looking away proudly.

"Green," she started slowly, "You can't just refuse to sleep, it's not healthy." Green shook his head.

"No, I'm not going to sleep. It's not worth it." he stated. From the way Blue's fists twitched slightly in frustration, Zelda guessed he had been saying that to Blue as well. Zelda let out a small sigh.

"What's worth staying up all night?" she queried quietly. Green scowled and tapped one finger against his arm.

"I'm not saying. It's none of your business and I don't need you guys to tell me how to live my life," he responded harshly. Blue groaned and ran a hand over his face.

"For Din's sake, we aren't trying to tell you how to live your life, we're trying to tell you how to not die! It should be pretty darn obvious what the correct thing to do here is!" he said, raising his voice in anger and frustration. Green couldn't seem to find a response, because he stayed silent and stared at a spot on the wall near where Zelda was standing. Zelda walked over to Green and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Green, we're worried for you. You can't stay awake all the time like this. Even though I don't know what's bothering you, I'm positive that it's not going to go away. Sooner or later you'll have to go to sleep-" Green tried to interrupt her, but Zelda pushed on, "-your body will force you to, I'm not saying you'll be willing, and whatever is preventing you from sleeping will be ten times worse." Green lost the tension in his body and he slumped over, knowing Zelda was right. Zelda smiled calmly and removed her hand from Green's shoulder.

"I'll stay with you tonight, alright?" she consoled kindly, "I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, and then I promise I won't leave the room." Green hesitated and finally looked at Zelda.

"You don't have to do that..." he trailed off oddly. Zelda looked at him sternly.

"And have you sneak awake like you did last night? I don't think so!" She stated with a raised eyebrow. Green deflated, the last hope of tricking Zelda gone. He reluctantly agreed, and lay down on the green bed. Zelda and Blue pulled over chairs and sat on against the farthest wall from Green so he wouldn't feel awkward having the two watch him sleep. It did seem a little creepy to Zelda, but the circumstances demanded it. Blue and Zelda sat quietly, watching either Green, or out the window. Finally, Green's breathing evened out, and the last tension in his body slipped away, to be soon replaced by soft snores. Zelda turned to Blue as quietly as she could.

"He's asleep," she breathed almost silently, "I wonder if he's really asleep for good," Blue looked over at the sleeping hero, before giving Zelda a rare, truly kind smile.

"I don't think so," he whispered back, "You certainly have a way of showing people just how much you care. It worked with me, and I'm sure Green was convinced." Zelda gave a soft sigh, letting staring at Green's sleeping form snuggled under the blankets.

"I don't know. I just feel so hopeless with him. I'm just being forced to watch him dig himself deeper and deeper into this sadness. I just wish I could figure out what's making him so scared of sleeping." 

"Relax, Zelda. You're fine. I'm sure Green wouldn't want you to give up, and you're doing fine. Trust me, anyone who can make Vio talk about his feelings can probably convince Vaati to host a teaparty for all of Hyrule." Zelda chuckled as quietly as she could and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Blue. I'm just glad you guys know how to help. I can't... I don't think I could do this on my own." she sighed. Blue let out his own soft chuckle.

"To be fair, I don't think anyone could do this but you. Even with all of Hyrule's support, this would still be just as stressful. And keeping this whole thing a secret? That must have just added tons of stress to your load. I get you, try going on a quest to save the world from Vaati and Ganon when the best knights in Hyrule couldn't beat Shadow." Zelda smiled and shook her head. 

"I never had any doubts that you would beat Ganon and Vaati." she reassured the Blue pyjama-clad hero. Blue gave his own smile in return.

"And none of us doubt that you can beat whatever nightmare of an issue is holding Green down." Zelda suddenly stilled, a thought coming to her.

"Wait, that's it!" she said excitedly, as loud as she could while still whispering, "You've got it, Blue!" Blue looked slightly concerned, thinking over what he had said, before his face dawned with realization and slight apprehension.

"You don't think..." he trailed off slightly and Zelda cut him off in her excitement.

"Yes! That's exactly what I think! It's nightmares! Whatever insecurities are plaguing Green, they're probably taking the form of nightmares!" she exclaimed, sitting straight up in her seat. Blue glanced over at Green, still in the sam position as when he had looked earlier. 

"That would make sense, and it would answer a lot of our unanswered questions." he mused thoughtfully. He grinned widely and raised his hand for a quiet high five.

"I'm a genius!" he laughed softly. Zelda nodded and giggled as well. Blue's face suddenly became serious again.

"Do you think he'll have another one again tonight?" he wondered out loud. Zelda's eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Most likely," she replied sadly, "If they're bad enough that he completely disregards his health to avoid them, they must be very serious." Blue nodded in agreement.

"Why don't you wait here then," he suggested, "If he wakes up from one, you can try to figure out what's wrong. I'd stay, but I have a feeling Green wouldn't want to talk feelings with me, I'm not exactly known as the kindest Link when it comes to personal problems," he admitted sheepishly. Zelda looked up at him with concern and he blushed scarlet.

"N-not that that means anything, feeling talk is just boring anyways!" he recovered as smoothly as a rocky cliff. Zelda raised one eyebrow, unimpressed, and Blue stood up abruptly.

"Yeah, I'll go back and head to bed. Just remember that you'll do fine as long as you keep a cool head. Think like me!" he stated rapidly in a whisper, and he left the room with one last thumbs up. Zelda sighed and shook her head with a chuckle, as much as she wanted to be upset that Blue just left her to deal with Green's possible nightmare problem, as much as she wanted to be jealous that he could go back to his room with not a care in the world, somehow she couldn't. Somehow she always knew that it was up to her to give Green the final push to come back to normal. Perhaps this was paying them back for risking their lives to rescue her. Even so, she knew she would still be just as willing to help even if they hadn't rescued her. 

Well, if they hadn't rescued her, she'd most likely be dead. The rational side of her brain added. She paused her thoughts, and then mentally shrugged. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right? She didn't know how long she had sat there, it must have been at least an hour, but no more than two. She had almost drifted off a few times, but sh caught herself at the last second. She had lost track of time a little while after thirty minutes. Finally, after stewing in her thoughts for quite a while, she was startled back to reality by a soft whine. She looked over at Green, who's face looked pained. Tears were slipping slowly down his cheeks as he shifted and rolled in his sleep.

Zelda stood up, almost tripped thanks to a foot that had fallen asleep, and made her way over to the side of Green's bed. She sat down carefully, making sure not to accidentally sit down on him, and heistated. She had no clue what to do. Should she wake him up? would that just make it worse? Should she just wait for him to wake up by himself? Would that be too cruel? She had been so excited about the prospect of figuring out what was wrong with Green, that she hadn't thought of what to do to help him. Oh, how she wished Blue hadn't left. Based on the loud snores coming from the next room over, she was pretty sure Blue was asleep. She wavered in place, torn between leaving Green to go ask someone for help, and staying with him to calm him down when he woke up, whether by hand or by himself. 

She didn't manage to decide on anything, as Green woke up with a gasp and a strangled sob. Zelda recoiled slightly in shock and waited for Green to ask her why she was sitting on his bed. She realized very quickly, however, that he was in no condition to do that. Green's breaths were irregular and panicked, his eyes were wide open and darting everywhere. Zelda wasn't even sure he was consciously aware that she was there. His chest heaved with massive breaths in and out. Zelda became very concerned, if he kept rushing in those breaths, he would surely pass out. He struggled to sit up and Zelda helped coax him silently into a sitting position. Still, Green gave no indication that he realized anyone was there. His focus was entirely on getting as much air as possible into his lungs. Zelda wasn't sure what was wrong, something in the back of her mind claimed that it looked familiar, but she was too worried and focused on helping Green to stop and think about.

Zelda tried to calm herself down. Green needed someone to help, and Zelda needed to be calm. The most pressing issue seemed to be calming Green down. He was clearly in a state of major panic and he needed to stop breathing so rapidly. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

"Green," she called quietly, whe Green gave no indication that he heard her, she called again, "Green, can you hear me?" she called a little louder. Green seemed to startle and he jumped away from her in fright. He gave no sign of calming down, if anything it got worse. Tears were still streaming down his face and he was wheezing. Zelda reached over and rested a very light hand on his shoulder, earning her a flinch in response. Zelda kept talking, uncertain as to whether or not she was doing the right things.

"Green," she called again softly, so as not to startle him again, "I need you to take deep breaths, in and out. Copy me." she demonstrated herself the deep, slow breathing he should be doing, and kept her hand on his shoulder. He had clearly heard her, because he seemed to try at first, but then he let out another whine of panic and drew his knees into his chest as he went back to breathing irregularly. Zelda frowned. If he was struggling with getting enough air, his knees should not be pressed up against his chest like that. She slowly moved forwards, murmuring calming things as she went to keep him from panicking more. She didn't really know what she was saying, but it seemed to work.

"Hey Green. We're just going to calm down. Deep breaths. In... and out... Just like me." she settled down so that she was sitting beside him and she gently coaxed his knees away from his chest. She tried to put an arm around him, but he flinched and squirmed in panic until she withdrew it. She settled for putting an gentle hand on his arm and rubbing slow circles on it. It seemed to calm him down a little, she wasn't sure what else to do, so she just sat there, murmuring comforting words and trying to get him to breathe better. She just stayed there for at least half an hour until the panic died down to almost nothing. Finally, Green hiccuped and looked up at Zelda, still breathing a little raggedly, but calm enough that he seemed to be able to talk normally. That being said, while he was calmer, he was not totally fine. Tears still flowed freely down his cheeks, and his eyes held a pain that swirled around their crystal depths. Zelda kept rubbing comforting circles on his arm, unsure as to whether she should stop. Who knows if the panic would come back.

"Green?" she called softly. Green looked up, but couldn't seem to meet her eyes. He looked back down sadly, Zelda only faintly hearing his response.

"Yeah?" he murmured brokenly. He sniffled and leaned over on Zelda's shoulder after a moment's hesitation.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" Zelda asked, moving her arm very very slowly away from Green's arm, and around his shoulders in a one armed side hug. This time Green didn't flinch away from the contact.

"I-I-you-" he couldn't put his thoughts to words and broke down in tears, sobs ripping through him as he buried his face in her shoulder. Muffled words came from her shoulder as Green tried to put words to his thoughts.

"I'm useless," he sobbed loudly, "I'm useless, and weak, and pathetic, and I'm a terrible leader," He dissolved into more loud sobs and hiccups. Zelda shifted so she could wrap both arms around his shaking body.

"No, no you're not. You an amazing leader, you're anything but useless, weak, and pathetic!" she consoled softly, feeling his tears soak through the fabric of her warm pyjamas. Green just buried her head farther into her shoulder. Zelda frowned, concerned for Green. She slowly tried to pull him away from her shoulder to look him in the eyes.

"What makes you say those things? You're amazing and and one of the best friends I could ever ask for!" she exclaimed, ducking her head to try to catch his eyes. Green shook his head, eyes red from crying. Other than the head shake, he didn't respond.

"Was it a nightmare?" she tried asking. Green flinched uncomfortably and she got her answer.

"Can you tell me what happened? I won't judge!" she added when Green kept evading her eyes and her questions. Zelda gently nudged Green's head with her hand to look him in the eyes, this time successfully. Green hiccuped again and broke the eye contact. Zelda didn't force him to look back.

"It's stupid," he started uncomfortably, but when Zelda opened her mouth to contradict him, he just shook his head and forced himself to continue talking, cutting Zelda off before she could start.

"I've been having the same dream for weeks. I'm standing in a clearing, forest a ways away on all sides of me. It's dark and I see Red, Blue, Vio, and Shadow. They're being chased by a bunch of hinoxes. They manage to make it to me and we get into our battle positions. Blue tries to say that we should aim for it's eye, but then Red says 'don't be silly, Green said that we have to attack their arms and legs!' and everyone listens to him since I'm the leader. But then-" Green hiccuped loudly and let out a choked sob "-Then one of them grabs Vio and... and throws him in the air. Attacking their arms and legs isn't working, and the Hinoxes get Shadow and Red and Blue after, and then right Vio pulls out his bow and shoots one of them in they eye and kills him. I run to see the others, but they're... They... They aren't breathing. They blamed me and it's my fault. They're right. If the others hadn't listened to my suggestion, if they hadn't blindly trusted me they wouldn't have died!" 

"That's horrible," Zelda consoled when he was done recounting his nightmare. Green just dissolved back into tears, unable to choke them back. Zelda wrapped her arms around Green, rubbing his back slowly while being lost in thought. That's what was stressing Green out. Being the cause of others' deaths. Once Green had started to calm down again, she began speaking again.

"It's just a nightmare. It's not real, Hyrule is at peace." she explained softly. Green cut her off with a cry of despair.

"But it could happen! They trust me, I could lead them to their deaths and they would just trust that I would get them out of it! What if I couldn't!" he cried out, wiping furiously at the tears on his cheeks. Zelda smiled, offering as much warmth and comfort as she could.

"That's never going to happen." she stated with an air of finality. Green shook his head sadly, convinced he was right. Zelda continued on anyways. "Do you know why that's never going to happen? Because you won't let it happen. You're an amazing leader. You think of the best ideas, and are confident leading them into the unknown. They trust you for a reason, Green. They wouldn't trust you with their lives if they weren't certain you were completely capable of keeping them safe. Besides, you wouldn't let it get that far anyways, you would have realized your plan wasn't working, and you would have listened to their ideas. That's one of the signs of an amazing leader, you listen to their ideas. That doesn't mean you aren't a good leader, it means you're willing to accept that sometimes you might not be able to get everyone out of it yourself, but that's why you have Red, Blue, and Vio." Green looked at her and slowly let out a wobbly smile.

Zelda pulled him into another hug and heard him sob into her shoulder again. These weren't sad tears, however, they were tears of relief, and through the sobbing, she could hear broken laughter coming from the green hero. Green pulled himself from her shoulder after a few minutes.

"Thank you, Zelda," he said, relief evident in his voice. Zelda smiled in return.

"It's not problem, Green, none at all. Do you think you can go to sleep?" she asked quietly. Green's eyes softened and he gazed into space, and smile faint on his lips.

"Yeah," he breathed slowly, "Yeah, I think I finally can," he said. Zelda gently stood up and walked towards the door.

"Sweet dreams then, Green," she called quietly, "I hope you sleep well until morning," with one last smile towards the hero climbing back under the covers, she exited the room and shut the door behind her. As soon as she left, she slumped over. She hadn't realized just how exhausted she was until she had left. She dragged herself towards her room, taking the time to silently open everyone's door a crack and check that they were sleeping well. Blue was sleeping fine, sprawled out on the bed and snoring loudly. Red was curled up around an old teddy and snoring softly.

Vio, however, was nowhere to be seen. Concerned, Zelda walked silently into the purple-themed room, calling a soft 'hello' to see if Vio would respond. She walked over to the bed, and her concerned expression softened. Vio was lying on the floor tangled in blankets beside his bed. He was still breathing evenly and letting out soft snores that were more like sighs than snores. Zelda carefully tried to roll Vio back onto the bed without waking him, rearranging his covers to be a little more comfortable. Once she was satisfied that he wouldn't fall off again, Zelda tiptoed back out of the room. 

She grabbed a pencil and a slip of paper and wrote a note for Shadow. She wrote down that she had indeed managed to talk with Green, and that his problem was solved just like the others. She dropped the paper on Shadow's pillow, and finally went to her room. Falling onto the bed, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow. The past few days of worry and stress had left her exhausted, mentally and physically. As she floated off to her dreams, she heard the voices in her head again. They didn't say any words or confusing riddles, Zelda just felt approval and pride radiating from the voices. The voices drifted off to nothing again, but somehow, Zelda could tell that they were truly gone, not just waiting in the back of her mind. Zelda knew, after realizing this, that she had truly won. She had saved her friends from a threat they weren't even aware of, and rescued them from their own misery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! This was crazy long... Anyways, THIS IS NOT THE END!! I am planning one last chapter to wrap everything up. A sort of epilogue, so fear not if you are incredibly confused like I am! (...Ha ha, no I know exactly what's going on...;)...)
> 
> I know people might be confused by the voices Zelda's hearing. I will not be explaining that in this story. However, I am planning to expland this story into it's own sort of AU with more long stories like this one, and short companion fics taking place during the longer stories. I have a prequel fleshed out where I plan to start at the end of the book with a pretty major change and explain the events happening before this. I also have a sequel planned that will be longer than this one explaining not only the voices, but also a bunch of stuff with Shadow that I didn't cover. There will likely be oneshots, and more long stories added in to the collection later, but I only have the prequel and one sequel fleshed out. 
> 
> I know this story sounds like all of the other Four Swords stories, but it does differ, which you will see in the sequel when it comes out.
> 
> Lastly, you will notice that I did not include any pairings. That is on purpose! I do plan on including pairings in the other stories in this AU or in companion fics to this story. I just don't really know which ones to put. If you would like to request them, you can PM me or leave a comment here with a request. If I don't get any ideas, I will likely pick my own, or just not include any romantic pairings (that is a valid option).
> 
> Thank you for sticking around to read this, as it is not crucial to this chapter, but it will determine where I will go with this story. Stay tuned for (probably a little shorter) epilogue!!


	8. Epilogue: Peace and Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after Zelda helped her friends through their tough times, the five Links decide to do something nice as a way to say thank you. The final installment to this story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! We're finally finished this story! I'm really thankful to those people who have stuck with me from the beginning, those who joined later on, and those who will discover this story later. Thank you so much! I can't explain just how much you have, and will, lift my spirits with comments, kudos, and hits this story has gotten and will get. I hope to see you in the prequel I'm working on next! Although it probably won't be out for a while, keep an eye out!
> 
> Again, I'm sorry it's late. Do you know how hard it is to write epilogues? You probably do. Anyways, It's hard! Honestly, there's no turning point in the plot, it's just a bundle of fun happiness! How do you write 5,000 words of pure fluff?!
> 
> For the last time, enjoy!

The sun filtered through the light curtains in Zelda's room, leaving a warm yellow glow behind. Zelda stirred softly and rolled over on her side, waking up. She had really slept in after the eventful previous night, the sun was already well into its ascent into the sky. She was about to get up and get ready for the day, but she heard shuffling outside in the hallway. Whispered voices accompanied the sounds, and Zelda cocked her head to the side in curiosity. The door opened a crack, and bright eyes peeked in.

"Zelda! You're up!" Red squeaked in surprise. Zelda yawned and stretched her arms above her head.

"Yeah," she replied when she finished, "Why are you outside my door?" Red glanced behind him where Zelda couldn't see, and pushed the door open more. Blue came in carrying a tray with some toast and eggs on it. Vio followed with a glass of fresh milk. Green and Red stood behind them.

"Green and Blue told us about the rough night you had," Vio began, setting the milk carefully on the bedside table, "We all figured you could use a relaxing morning, unlike the stress you've been through these past few days." Zelda smiled, eyes lighting up at the warm food. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until she had a plate right in front of her. Zelda picked up a fork and began inhaling her eggs. The others looked at her with grins on their faces and headed downstairs.

"We'll head downstairs. Enjoy your breakfast!" Blue exclaimed, before heading out the door, followed by the others.

"Come downstairs when you're done. We have a couple of things planned for the day."

Green explained right before he left, shutting the door behind him. Zelda smiled at the thoughtfulness of the four heroes, she was very thankful for them. She ate the rest of her breakfast while it was still warm. She felt very refreshed and woken up by the time she munched the last piece of toast, she threw her covers off herself, and stood up to get ready to go downstairs. She knew exactly what the four Links were doing, she wasn't dumb. She was enjoying the rest and relaxation it gave though. She normally would have declined the breakfast in bed option, seeing as she could theoretically get that any day she wanted (though she saved it as a special treat for special occasions), but she had realized that it letting the four Links 'repay' her for helping out on her vacation would be a lot easier than trying to prevent it.

Zelda pulled on her clothes and brought a brush to her tangled hair, feeling a little silly that Red, Blue, Green, and Vio had seen her terribly awful morning bedhead. She walked out of her room once she was ready, heavily anticipating whatever events were planned for the day. As expected, Red, Green, Vio, and Blue were sitting in the living room, chatting amicably and finishing up their own breakfasts. They all looked up as soon as Zelda walked in.

"Good morning!" Green greeted, being the closest to the stairs. Zelda smiled and sat down in an empty space on the couch beside Red. The chipper boy put his plate away and clapped his hands in excitement.

"Alright!" he exclaimed, "Now that everyone's ready, we can start the day!" Everyone else nodded in agreement, sporting excited smiles and a hopeful gleam in their eyes that had been missing just the previous day.

"So," Zelda began, glancing at her friends, "What activities do you have planned?" The others shared a look, and settled forwards on their hands.

"Well," Red started excitedly, "Since you haven't been out lately, and you don't go out of the castle much, I thought we could go explore a little bit of Hyrule and visit the Village of the Blue Maiden!" Zelda's eyes lit up. She went to talk with the leaders of some of the other villages every once in a while, but she didn't have much time to just enjoy the scenery and chat with the locals. Vio glanced around briefly, before speaking up himself.

"Next, I thought we could have a picnic in a nearby field, enjoy the tranquility of Hyrule," he continued from where Red finished. Next, Blue picked up the trail.

"Yeah, and after that, I figured we could come back here and play some games until late it gets dark," he explained, glancing over at Green as a hint to continue speaking.

"And once it's dark out, I thought we could make a fire and cook dinner out there when Shadow wakes up!" He finished with a flourish of his hands. Zelda smiled and clasped her hands together tightly. The four Links all looked to her for her thoughts.

"That sounds lovely!" she decided without hesitation, "I haven't been to the Village of the Blue Maiden in ages, and a picnic sounds just lovely in this weather! And then games and a fire outside is the perfect way to wind off after an eventful day like that!" The others cheered and pumped their hands in the air. Vio recovered first and looked out the window.

"We should get heading out now before it gets too late, it should take us about an hour to get to the village, and if we want to be leaving at lunchtime, then it only leaves us two or three hours to spend in the village." he announced, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the slowly dwindling whoops and excited chatter. Zelda stood up abruptly, all eyes turning to her and the noise quieting.

"Yes, you're very right. I'll go get changed and I'll meet you down here in a few minutes!" she declared, heading for the stairs, "By the way, you should probably write a note for Shadow telling him of our plans. That way he'll know to expect the fire and not just leave when he doesn't see us downstairs." 

"Oh man, that'd be a sight. We plan a nice night out back with a fire and everything and Shadow just runs off, thinking we fell asleep!" Blue snorted in a brief spurt of laughter. Vio frowned slightly.

"Well, I think he'd think to check out back before just leaving," he mused, "but you're right; we ought to leave a note just in case," Zelda nodded her head and continued the very short trek to her room, leaving the others to pack some food and get their gear and other items to bring along. Vacation or not, she was still the princess of Hyrule, and she needed to represent her kingdom. That meant wearing something with the royal symbol. Hopefully she packed something like that that was casual enough to wear on an hour long walk and a picnic with friends. After a couple minutes of looking, she managed to find a pretty casual outfit to wear, and she got herself changed quickly. Zelda walked downstairs, freshened up and ready for the busy day, to find all four Links waiting at the door, dressed in their usual tunics with the four sword and shields on their backs. Green opened the door and led the way outside. Zelda breathed in the fresh air outside and sighed at the small breeze whistling through the clearing. 

Red skipped ahead and grabbed the map from Green, startling him a little. 

"Come on! This part was my idea, let me lead!" he exclaimed with a bubbly laugh. Green glanced back at everyone else and shrugged.

"Sure thing, you remember the way I'm sure. Just don't stare at the map while you walk, you could trip," he advised the practically glowing boy. Blue sidled up beside him and elbowed him none-too-gently in the side.

"You'd know, wouldn't you? Remember that time when we were going looking for the cave water that would help Shadow? You fell off a cliff because you didn't know where you were going!" he laughed, grinning widely. Vio attempted rather unsuccessfully to choke back a laugh. Red and Zelda burst into giggles. Green blushed scarlet in embarrassment and looked away with a huff. He may have attempted to deny it, or not, no one was able to stop laughing long enough to listen. They had walked quite a bit into the forest by the time they all managed to quiet down, Green refusing to look anywhere near anyone. 

"Whatever," Green huffed, "I heard that Vio hugged Zelda  _willingly_ ," he retorted once everything was quieter. Vio turned scarlet as well and spun around to look at him.

"Oh, real mature, Green. Real mature. We both know there's a difference between the two incidents! It wasn't even that big of a deal, why do people act like it's the end of the world!" he shot back in a flurry of words. The two broke out in a squabbling match, neither wanting to back down enough with their pride on the line.

Zelda and Blue sat back and watched the bickering, enjoying the show. Red, however, was not quite as relaxed with the whole thing. Letting out a sigh and moving in worriedly to try to break the two up. Zelda pointedly ignored the pleading looks the red-clad boy sent her, looking quite interested in a specific tree sticking out a little on the path. Blue just shrugged and crossed his arms with a smirk. Red rolled his eyes and sent a glare towards the two.

"Really," he huffed with a pout, "I know Blue wouldn't help me, but I thought you were the mature one, Zelda," Zelda giggled and walked over to pry the bickering boys apart. She successfully held Vio back, and he calmed down within a few moments, letting out an apology under his breath to Zelda. Looking over at Green, Zelda could tell that he was also calmed down. The five friends all walked along the path for the next hour, laughing, teasing each other, and generally having a good time. They arrived at the Village of the Blue Maiden in what felt like no time at all. They had not even stepped in the village before they were greeted by excited whispers and calls. 

"Princess Zelda is here!" They heard someone shout.

"Princess Zelda?"

"Princess Zelda!"

"The Princess!"

"Hey, Look! It's the Four Sword Heroes! They're back!"

"Oh Nayru, the heroes? In the flesh?!"

"Someone call the leader, they'll probably want to see him!"

"Why is she here?" 

"Is something wrong?" 

"Maybe she has good news!" The group passed the cheering townspeople with waves and smiles. Zelda was perfectly at ease with all the attention, but the other four were much less so. They waved a little awkwardly and stuck close together. Suddenly Red gasped and pointed threw the crowd.

"Look! It's Erune!" He exclaimed loudly. The others looked over to where Red was pointed and saw the young girl standing with what they assumed was her parents. The group changed direction and walked over to go see her. 

"Oh Nayru, it's Princess Zelda!" she cried out as soon as she realized that the group was coming. Zelda smiled and held out her hand.

"Hello! You must be Erune, I've heard much about you from these four," she said, gesturing at the four heroes behind her. They all waved happily. Erune smiled and grasped the outstretched hand gently, as if trying not to break it. She then turned to the other four.

"You're back," she stated, "I'm glad you're visiting us again!" The four heroes smiled sheepishly and agreed. Erune frowned momentarily, letting go of Zelda's hand in the process.

"Why are you here? Is something wrong?" she asked Zelda. Zelda shook her head.

"No, we're just here visiting for the morning. Would you like to join us?" she asked the slightly smaller girl. Erune's eyes lit up like fireworks. SHe bounced up and tugged on her mother's dress.

"Mom! Mom! Can I go? Please?" she begged incessantly. Her mother looked down at the young girl and sighed under her breath.

"Oh, all right," she replied, "don't cause any trouble for the princess!" Erune leaped into the air and grabbed Green's hand, dragging the boy off through the small gathering of people. The other Links followed. Zelda was about to go as well when Erune's mother called her back.

"Thank you for that, she'll be talking about this for months," she said, smiling, "But if she gets to be too much, come find me. You ought to enjoy your day out, I'm sure you don't get many." Zelda smiled and nodded her head.

"It'll be no trouble, I'm glad to get to know her. I wasn't lying when I said I heard all about her from Red, Blue, Green, and Vio," She replied with a chuckle, before walking away to find the others. 

After a few stops to say hello to people, she found everyone standing outside, looking at a lone merchant's items for sale. She walked over and stood beside Green and Vio. 

"What are you looking at?" she queried curiously. Vio turned to her, a little startled.

"Oh! There you are, Zelda. We were worried we lost you. Look what this merchant did with simple glass!" he said, gesturing at the excited merchant.

"Fascinating! The colours are very pretty," she started, admiring the glass items, "I'm afraid I can't get any today, but if you came by the market by the castle I will absolutely come get one!" The merchant straightened up immediately, nodding his head so fast Zelda was worried he'd have whiplash. His face was obscured by an odd hood, but Zelda was sure he was beaming.

They wandered around, talking with people, playing with the other kids, noon felt like it came by way too fast. But even then, the group found themselves at the gate, avoiding the elephant in the room. Finally, they could avoid it no longer.

"We should get going, the field isn't too far away, but we don't want to push our luck," Vio sighed after a moment's hesitation. Erune smiled sadly, making Zelda and all four Links 'aww' in their minds.

"Yeah, I promised my mom I wouldn't be out long, so I should let you guys go. Come visit again soon!" she stated with a wobbly smile. Zelda smiled and gave Erune a light hug.

"Absolutely, next time I come around here I'll be sure to say hello, thank you for coming with us today," she replied, untangling herself from the brief hug. Red grinned, hopping up and down.

"Yup! We'll be back soon, and we'll have even more fun then!" he agreed. Green held out a hand for a handshake.

"That's right, thank you for spending time with us," he stated. Erune shook his hand lightly. Vio turned to her next.

"Yeah, we'll be sure to stop by next time we're out here," he said, echoing Red's words. Blue nodded his head and put his hands on his hips.

"For sure! And maybe sometime you could come see the castle!" he declared loudly, before turning to Zelda sheepishly, "Uh, that is, if you're allowed..." Zelda giggled and nodded.

"We have the harvest festival coming up soon, maybe if you came to celebrate then we could show you around the castle, I don't get many guests." she agreed lightly. Erune beamed and jumped in the air.

"Okay! Thank you! Bye!" she called as she ran back around a corner to where her mother was likely waiting. The five friends stood and waved until she was gone, before turning back towards the gates. They set back out onto the path, Vio taking the map and leading them to a spot marked on it in purple. They walked off, looking forwards to eating a nice picnic lunch. Red still had the basket, Zelda was surprised it hadn't gotten dropped earlier on. Vio barely had to look at the map, so she knew it wouldn't be that far. Sure enough, they reached the top of a hill and looked down to a field of flowers in a multitude of colours. Red and Blue let out whoops of joy and ran down the rest of the hill, the picnic basket swaying and jumping dangerously. The other three followed at a slower pace, but no less ecstatic. Red had found a nice area where they wouldn't be crushing too many flowers, and was setting out the picnic blanket. Blue started pulling stuff out of the basket and organizing it for five people. Green's stomach let out a rather large grumble and everyone sat down to eat. 

"Ooh! Egg salad sandwiches! And Grapes!" Green said, settling down between Blue and Zelda. Red smiled, taking a massive bit out of his own sandwich. Blue chewed on the crusts, ignoring the centre of the sandwich. Vio eyed him with a raised eyebrow.

"You can't eat egg salad sandwiches like that, the egg salad will get everywhere but your mouth," he stated. Blue snorted and raised an eyebrow of his own.

"Not true, this way tastes much better than the boring normal way," he retorted, making a big show of ripping off the last piece of crust with his mouth and then taking a large bite out of the centre.

"See?" he asked, patting his belly. Vio rolled his eyes and took another bite of his own food. Blue huffed and turned to Green.

"Green, what do you say? Crust first, or centre?" he asked impatiently. Green stared, looking like a deer trapped in the headlights.

"Uhhh..." he said, staring at his partially eaten sandwich, "Can we maybe not argue about this?" he finished with a wince. As expected, they didn't listen.

"Look," Vio pointed out, seemingly calm, but no one was really fooled, "He's eating his sandwich like a  _normal person_!" he hissed the last words out, narrowing his eyes. Green sighed and buried his head in his hands.

"Here we go again," he muttered, though no one was paying attention. Blue turned to Zelda next, after seeing that Green was of no help.

"Zelda!" he shouted, "what about you? How would you eat?" he asked. Zelda glanced at the two and answered slowly, knowing that no matter what she said, one of them would just get more worked up. 

"Well," she started calmly, "I think that the way Blue is eating looks fun," she decided. Blue grinned and turned smugly to Vio.

"See? Zelda agrees with me, maybe my way isn't so terrible after all!" he mocked. Vio rolled his eyes, though they were hard as steel. 

"Whatever, we're tied, so Red is the deciding vote," he stated. Everyone turned to Red, wanting to have the argument done and over with. Red looked up innocently.

"You guys eat sandwiches so weirdly, you should try it like me!" he exclaimed. Everyone glanced down at his sandwich. He had taken off and eaten the top slice of bread, and folded the bottom slice to make a half wrap-like thing. 

"See?" he continued, "This way I get double the egg salad and half the sandwich!" He took a large bite and smiled at the others happily. Vio and Blue turned back to their own meals and stopped talking altogether. 

Suffice to say they didn't argue about that particular difference again, agreeing that the other's way of eating, while not as good as their own, was way better than Red's.

Their meal was very pleasant after the argument, though both Vio and Blue cast glances at Red's poor excuse of a sandwich the entire time. Once they were done, they packed up to get ready for the hour long trek back to the house.  Green stretched and picked up the much lighter picnic basket. The others took their time getting up as well.

"That was very nice, guys. Next time I have time off, we should come out here again!" she exclaimed as she stood up and smoothed out her dress. The five wordlessly set off on the path back to the house, enjoying the scenery instead of the chatter. Birds flew above the treetops, the trees reached for the sky, everything just felt so right. Hyrule was truly beautiful in its time of peace. Once again, Zelda marveled at how time could pass so quickly in the great outdoors with friends as she stood in front of the Links' house, what felt like it couldn't be an entire hour later. Blue walked ahead and pushed open the door, letting everyone else inside before locking it behind himself.

"Ah, home," he breathed, putting his sword and shield away in its resting place, "Finally, now that we're back it's time for my plans for the day! Games!" he exclaimed loudly. The other four, who were setting down their things, let out large smiles (or small smiles, in Vio's case), and went over to the table in the kitchen where Blue was already grabbing cards and board games and setting them out. Eventually, everyone got seated at the table, Green being last because he had unpacked the picnic basket from lunch.

"So," Zelda started, glancing around the table, "What are we playing?" Red stuck his hand up in the air, waving it around before snatching a deck of cards from the table.

"Ooh!" he squealed, "How about Hearts?!" Blue shrugged.

"Sure, just be prepared to lose, we still haven't been able to beat Vio yet," Green nodded his head and grabbed the cards from Red's hand.

"I'll deal," he stated, shuffling them in his hands. He passed cards to everyone and they all took a moment to examine them. Vio's face was carefully blank, leaving no positive or negative emotions on his face. Red was beaming, unable to stay completely blank for longer than a moment. Green and Blue both just kind of looked nonchalant, and Zelda was frowning. Vio glanced over and subtly raised an eyebrow. She didn't seem like someone who would give away what sort of hand she had, maybe it was a ruse. He went back to his cards.

Blue tossed a card on the table, the ace of diamonds. Red, sitting beside him, tossed on a nine of diamonds. The game continued on, Vio winning almost every round and somehow managing to avoid picking up almost every hearts card. Green had pinned a now furious Blue with the queen of spades two rounds in a row, so he was currently sitting at last. All in all, it was going smoothly, Blue clearly had the bad hands, but no one was moving up or down in the rankings, that is, until Zelda pulled the metaphorical ace out of her sleeve and miraculously managed to pin the queen of spades on Vio, bringing him down just enough that he and Zelda were neck and neck. Even Blue momentarily forget his frustration at being completely unable to win a round to marvel at Zelda's play and laugh at vio's stupefied face. Laughter rang all through the house as afternoon grew into evening. They had switched games and were playing a board game that Zelda wasn't sure she had ever heard of. It was enjoyable, and everyone had to laugh at Red's extremely pleased face as he creamed everyone else, climbing all the way to the top of the rankings. This time it was Zelda's turn to be losing badly, but since she was new, no one really blamed her.

"I move my piece three of my pieces to Zelda's territory and attack!" Red exclaimed, shuffling three pieces over the board next to a lonely on of Zelda's. The two rolled dice and played, Zelda's piece being knocked right out. Zelda groaned and moved two of her own pieces from the land adjacent to defend in its place. Vio smirked and moved a few of his pieces on the other side of Red's pieces and stationed them.

"Well, congratulations, you both fell into my trap. You're both surrounded and weakened from your fight with each other." he announced dramatically. Green pointed a finger across the table and grinned. 

"Yes, but in doing so, you fell in my trap!" he exclaimed, shifting a couple pieces to intercept Vio's, "Which I'm actually really surprised worked. I was not expecting this..." he put his head in his hands and smiled, very proud of himself for thinking of his trap. Blue pointed his finger at all five of them.

"Aha!" he exclaimed proudly. He then paused, and shuffled a piece to the land next to it, doing absolutely nothing that affected the others, "I don't actually have a trap, I'm just moving a piece here for fun." Everyone else rolled their eyes, and continued on with the next player. The game ended up ending in a draw, both Green and Red fighting for first after Vio got split off from his reinforcements. They would have kept playing, but Shadow had wandered in, since it was now quite dark outside. 

"I win!" he declared as soon as he entered, sweeping his hand across the board and sending all of the pieces flying. Zelda stood up and laughed.

"No, I win!" she replied, pointing at the last survivor of Shadow's impromptu attack on the board. It was her piece, and thus she argued that that meant that she won. They ended up packing the game back up anyways because it was late, and everyone was hungry.

"Bonfire time!" Green hollered, running outside to get a fire set up outside that they could use for cooking. Red grabbed some food and followed at the same pace. Shadow stayed back with Blue, Zelda, and Vio, and stretched, yawning at the same time. 

"Well, good evening," he greeted them, grabbing some plates to bring outside. The others tiredly repeated the greeting and all grabbed something to bring outside as well. Green (with help from Red's fire rod) had gotten the fire blazing nicely, though still small enough that they could cook their food without scorching it immediately. Everyone settled onto the logs surrounding the fire and felt their mouths water when Red pulled out the food to roast over the fire. They all grabbed sticks and chose some food to cook, and enjoyed some nice small talk while they cooked.

"So, I heard, or rather read, that you guys were planning a nice day today. How'd that go?" Shadow asked the five. Zelda beamed, recalling the day.

"It was lovely, we went out to the Village of the Blue Maiden, then we had a picnic outside, and then we played some games back here. How was your night?" She replied without hesitation. Shadow smirked, showing his teeth.

"Quiet," he answered jokingly, "I didn't get woken up by noisy people being awake and active! Best sleep I've had in years,"  Everyone laughed, winding down after the tiring day. Vio spoke up once people had quieted down.

"So, Zelda," he began on a more serious note, "When are you looking to head back to the castle?" Zelda pursed her lips in thought.

"I'm not sure, things seem to be looking up here, and I've been away on my impromptu vacation for long enough. I'll likely leave tomorrow afternoon." she decided. Red pouted slightly, letting his stick dip a little too low in the fire.

"Aww, Already?"

"Yes, I really ought to head back, I'm sure everyone has been panicking in my absence." she noted somewhat sadly. Red nodded, still not a hundred percent convinced.

"You'll do some looking in to my little light problem when you get back, right?" Shadow intervened. Zelda gave a smile, happy to be talking about good news.

"Absolutely, I'm sure I have some books that might be able to help, and you're probably recovered from your... sacrifice... that you should be able to handle any procedures we find." she explained in no great detail. Shadow looked excited, of course he was still looking like his usual cool, composed self, but there was a smile tugging on his lips and a light in his eyes that couldn't be explained away by the fire.

"Alright, cool," he said in response. Green sighed, shifting slightly on the log.

"This is nice," he mused to the others, "We should do this more often," Everyone nodded, lost in their own thoughts.

"Though, not under the same circumstances, I hope," Blue joked. Zelda laughed quietly to herself. If only she could get more time away from the castle. Perhaps working with Shadow to help research his light problem would give more excuses to visit the five Links more often.

"When you can go in the sunlight, what's the thing you're looking forwards to the most?" Green inquired softly. Shadow pondered the statement for a few moments before replying.

"I'm not sure," he admitted to the others, "I'd really like to just watch the sun instead of hiding away under a rock somewhere," he said. Vio raised one eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"If you look at the sun for too long, you'll burn your retinas," he noted dryly. Shadow gave him a look, not impressed with his comment.

"Don't give me your sass, Vio. I'm trying to have a dramatic, heartfelt moment." he replied just as dryly. Vio rolled his eyes.

"It's called helpful advice, or common sense, if you don't like the first, and why on earth would you need a dramatic, heartfelt moment. You've already had way too many moments like that when we were trying to fight you." 

"It's called sass. Don't lie. Besides, it's not common sense to someone who has never considered the possibility of seeing the sun. Why on earth would I learn that if the much better piece of common sense was 'don't look at the sun  _at all_ , it'll burn your _entire body_ and you'll  _die_ ',"

"Then call it helpful advice," 

"I'm calling it your extremely unhelpful sass!"

Vio was smirking, hands folded in his lap, but Shadow was much more riled up. Zelda, Red, Blue, and Green were all trying extremely hard to muffle their laughter, tears streaming out of their eyes. Vio was really the only one who could get Shadow riled up, he knew exactly what buttons to push.

The night grew later, and though everyone wanted to stay awake and keep talking, Shadow was the only one who was not yawning every few seconds. He ushered everyone upstairs to their rooms and into their beds. They were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. Zelda watched Shadow try to push Red into his room. The red teammate was thoroughly convinced that Shadow had gotten their rooms mixed up and that his room was really Green's. Unfortunately, she didn't get to see how it played out, she just saw Shadow let out a very frustrated sigh and start trying to drag him into the right room before her eyes drooped shut and she couldn't force them open again. She would have to go back to the castle the next day, but that was an issue for the future, as she drifted off to sleep, the only things on her mind were her friends and the amazing day she'd had.

Hopefully, trouble wouldn’t rear its ugly head again for a little while. Though things were finally at peace, there was no telling what secrets still lay buried in Hyrule’s five heroes. Zelda had patched the wounds that week, but everyone knew that scars run deep beneath the surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we're done! I'm actually not too happy with how this one came out, (can you tell I despise epilogues?) but I'm hoping it was enough to give some extra fluff and happiness before I ruin (er, add some fun to...) their lives later. Thank you all for sticking with me for my first fanfiction, I hope it lived up to your expectations!
> 
> THE FOLLOWING IS JUST INFORMATION ABOUT THE SEQUEL, NOT NESSECAIRY TO READ (though you can if you're interested)
> 
> As some of you might know, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is coming up november 1st. I will be writing the prequel (and possibly the sequel if I have time) during that time. This means that the story will be pre-written. What I am thinking, is that I will write the story all through november, and then release a chapter once or twice a week around the half to three quarters mark. For anyone looking to request anything for one of the two stories, leave a comment or PM me. It's always more fun to write when I have something fun and unplanned to incorporate into the chapters. I really hope you enjoyed the story, I will still be checking for reviews, so if you want to find me, that's a good way since I get notifications when it happens. 
> 
> Thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> I would be incredibely thankful if you could add suggestions in the comments, prompts for the different chapters help the writing a lot. I will update soon, no later than Sunday. Tell me what sort of things you'd like to see in the later chapters! More humour, or sadness? longer chapters? More of a particular character? I might do a pairing if someone asks and describes how they would like to see the pairing play out.


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